Russia’s Top General Visits Troops in Ukraine to Discuss Next Steps 

Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov meets with service members who, according to the Defense Ministry, participated in taking Avdiivka, at a Russian military command center in a location given as Russian-controlled Ukraine, in this still image taken from video released February 21, 2024. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov meets with service members who, according to the Defense Ministry, participated in taking Avdiivka, at a Russian military command center in a location given as Russian-controlled Ukraine, in this still image taken from video released February 21, 2024. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
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Russia’s Top General Visits Troops in Ukraine to Discuss Next Steps 

Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov meets with service members who, according to the Defense Ministry, participated in taking Avdiivka, at a Russian military command center in a location given as Russian-controlled Ukraine, in this still image taken from video released February 21, 2024. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov meets with service members who, according to the Defense Ministry, participated in taking Avdiivka, at a Russian military command center in a location given as Russian-controlled Ukraine, in this still image taken from video released February 21, 2024. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)

Russia's top general, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, visited troops fighting in the war in Ukraine to discuss the next steps after the taking the town of Avdiivka, state media reported on Wednesday.

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Russian troops would push further into Ukraine to build on their success on the battlefield after the fall of the town of Avdiivka where he said Ukrainian troops had been forced to flee in chaos.

Gerasimov was shown awarding medals to Russian troops involved in taking Avdiivka and he was given a report by the commander in charge of the Russian assault on Avdiivka, Colonel-General Andrei Mordvichev, state media said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told CNN that Avdiivka would not have fallen had Kyiv received weapons held up by the US Congress' failure to approve a large aid package.

After the failure of Ukraine to pierce Russian front lines in the east and south last year, Moscow has been trying to grind down Ukrainian forces just as Kyiv ponders a major new mobilization.



Khamenei: Iran is Ready to Respond to Any Renewed Military Attack

A handout picture made available by the Iranian supreme leader office shows, Iranian supreme leader Ali Khameni speaking during a meeting with members of Iranian judiciary in Tehran, Iran, 16 July 2025. EPA/IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER OFFICE
A handout picture made available by the Iranian supreme leader office shows, Iranian supreme leader Ali Khameni speaking during a meeting with members of Iranian judiciary in Tehran, Iran, 16 July 2025. EPA/IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER OFFICE
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Khamenei: Iran is Ready to Respond to Any Renewed Military Attack

A handout picture made available by the Iranian supreme leader office shows, Iranian supreme leader Ali Khameni speaking during a meeting with members of Iranian judiciary in Tehran, Iran, 16 July 2025. EPA/IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER OFFICE
A handout picture made available by the Iranian supreme leader office shows, Iranian supreme leader Ali Khameni speaking during a meeting with members of Iranian judiciary in Tehran, Iran, 16 July 2025. EPA/IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER OFFICE

Iran is ready to respond to any renewed military attack, the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in comments carried by state TV on Wednesday, adding Tehran was capable of giving a bigger blow to adversaries than the one delivered during the 12-day Iran-Israel war last month.

He also accused the US of being an accomplice to Israel’s crimes, describing Israel a “cancerous tumor”.

He added: “Fighting the US and its ‘dog on leash’ Israel is praiseworthy”.