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Russian Chief of Staff Shown Visiting Troops Near Front Line in Ukraine 

27 July 2023, Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia: A destroyed car is seen in front of the apartment building that was heavily damaged by the Russian shelling in Zaporizhzhia. (dpa)
27 July 2023, Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia: A destroyed car is seen in front of the apartment building that was heavily damaged by the Russian shelling in Zaporizhzhia. (dpa)
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Russian Chief of Staff Shown Visiting Troops Near Front Line in Ukraine 

27 July 2023, Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia: A destroyed car is seen in front of the apartment building that was heavily damaged by the Russian shelling in Zaporizhzhia. (dpa)
27 July 2023, Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia: A destroyed car is seen in front of the apartment building that was heavily damaged by the Russian shelling in Zaporizhzhia. (dpa)

Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia's armed forces, has visited Russian troops in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, the Russian defense ministry said on Tuesday.

It said Gerasimov inspected a command center and underscored the importance of preemptive strikes against Ukrainian forces. An accompanying video showed him poring over a map, receiving briefings and climbing into a helicopter.

Gerasimov was for many months the target of savage criticism from Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and some Russian military bloggers over Russia's failings in the war.

After Wagner staged a brief mutiny against the defense establishment on June 24, there were questions as to whether Gerasimov would keep his job. More than two weeks elapsed before he was first seen again in public, on July 10.

Tuesday's statement and video seemed designed to show that he not only remains in his post but is actively engaged with troops on the front line. The Zaporizhzhia region has seen some of the fiercest fighting of recent weeks, since Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in early June.

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Khamenei: Iran Doesn’t Have Proxies in the Region

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei meets a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran
Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei meets a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran
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Khamenei: Iran Doesn’t Have Proxies in the Region

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei meets a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran
Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei meets a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran

Iran’s supreme leader denied Sunday that militant groups around the region functioned as Tehran’s proxies, warning that if his country chose to “take action,” it would not need them anyway.
Ali Khamenei told a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran, “They keep saying that the Islamic Republic has lost its proxy forces in the region! This is another mistake. If one day we want to take action, we do not need a proxy force,” according to his website.
Khamenei then attacked the United States and its ally Israel over developments in Syria, and hinted at internal criticism of Iran's regional role.
“Their plans in Syria led to unrest and chaos, and now the United States, the Zionist regime, and their allies, feeling victorious, have resorted to extravagant claims and nonsensical talk, like the followers of devil,” he said.
The Iranian leader then quoted an American official as saying that Washington will “provide assistance and support to anyone causing unrest in Iran.”
Such statements, he said, are an example of the enemies’ boastful rhetoric. “The Iranian nation with their strong steps will trample underfoot any US mercenary who accepts this role,” he added.
Khamenei then addressed the Israelis saying, “You Zionists haven’t won; you’ve been defeated. Yes, you were able to advance a few kilometers in Syria where there wasn't even one soldier with a gun to stop you. That’s not victory. Indeed, the courageous, devout, young people of Syria will definitely expel you from there.”
He added, “You wretched people! Where have you won? Have you won in Gaza? Have you destroyed Hamas? Have you freed your own prisoners? Is this victory to kill over 40,000 people without being able to achieve even one of your goals? Despite killing Hassan Nasrallah, have you managed to eliminate Hezbollah in Lebanon?”
Khamenei also affirmed that Iran has not lost its proxies in the region.
“Iran doesn’t have proxy forces. Yemen fights due to their faith. Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fight because their beliefs compel them to do so,” he said.
IRGC commander Hossein Salami, five days after Assad's fall, had denied that Iran had lost its regional arms. “Some suggest the Iranian regime has lost its arms, but this is not true. The regime still has its arms,” he said.