Ukraine war: US says Russia’s top general Valery Gerasimov visited Donbas front where Kyiv claimed deadly attack
- Ukraine reports deaths in attack on Russian command centre in Izium, where Moscow’s top general visited
- US said it could not confirm media reports Russian military’s Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov was injured
Russia’s top general, Valery Gerasimov, visited the Donbas front in the Ukraine war last week, a Pentagon official said, but reports that he was injured in a Ukrainian attack could not be confirmed.
“What we can confirm is that we know that for several days last week he was in the Donbas,” a senior US defence official told journalists on Monday.
“We don’t believe that he’s still there – that he has left and he’s back in Russia,” the official said.
“We cannot confirm reports that he was injured.”
According to reports citing Ukraine officials, on Saturday Ukraine forces shelled a command centre in Izium, where Gerasimov, chief of general staff of the Russian armed forces, visited to meet with top field commanders.
But he had apparently left the site before the shelling took place.