Putin holds meeting with top generals

President Vladimir Putin paid an announced visit to a command-and-control center in southern Russia in charge of military operations in Ukraine, the Kremlin Press Service said on Sunday, as cited by the media.

During his trip to the command post in Rostov-on-Don, Putin “heard reports from the chief of the Russian General Staff [Valery] Gerasimov and a number of military leaders,” the Kremlin said.

In a video of the visit shared by local media, the Russian president told Gerasimov while entering the CP that he has “as much time as necessary” to hear military reports.

The high-level meeting comes on the heels of Putin’s surprise visits to Crimea and the city of Mariupol in the Donetsk People’s Republic, which was liberated by Russian forces last spring after weeks of heavy fighting.