MOSCOW, JAN 27: The Russian army’s chief of staff, Valery Gerasimov, has visited troops fighting in eastern Ukraine, Russia’s defence ministry said on Tuesday.

Gerasimov “inspected the progress of combat missions conducted by formations and units of the Zapad (West) force group,” the ministry wrote on Telegram, without providing details on when or where the visit took place.

The announcement of his visit came days after US-brokered trilateral talks in the United Arab Emirates between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, aimed at ending the nearly four-year conflict.

The next round is expected to take place on February 1, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In a video of Gerasimov’s visit aired by the defence ministry, he said that Russian troops “continue their offensive along all lines”.

                  He said that since the start of the year, the Russian army had taken control of 17 localities and “more than 500 square kilometres” of Ukrainian territory and was making its way towards the city of Zaporizhzhia.