Russian president visits southern military headquarters

MOSCOW

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the headquarters of the Southern Military District in the city of Rostov-on-Don on Friday.

"Vladimir Putin, having completed an official visit to Astana, flew to Rostov-on-Don," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Putin received reports about the Ukraine war by Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Peskov added.

"Vladimir Putin was introduced to new models of military equipment and made reports on the course of a special military operation," he said.

Rostov-on-Don is the administrative center of the Rostov region bordering Ukraine.

Russia launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine in February last year to "denazify" and "demilitarize" Ukraine, and protect the Russian-speaking population of the neighboring country. The West, however, calls it "a war of aggression."