Valery Gerasimov

Day 728 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Sweden on Saturday, his first visit to the country since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, while at home a missile strike in the center of a northern city killed five people and wounded dozens.

Day 492 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

Since the failure of the "Wagner" paramilitary group rebellion, top Russian generals have not appeared in public, writes Reuters.

However, the Institute for the Study of War introduced two new names in the foreground - the head of the office of the Russian president, Anton Vain, and the Russian ambassador to Belarus, Boris Gryzlov.

Russian state television on Monday broadcast footage of Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu inspecting Russian troops, in his first public appearance since a failed mutiny by Wagner forces.

Day 485 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

Russia said Monday it had repelled "a large-scale offensive" by Ukrainian forces in Moscow-annexed Donetsk, as fighting intensified along their border.

Kiev has for months said it is preparing a major counteroffensive, hoping to reclaim territory lost since Russia launched its military operation in February 2022.

The head of the Wagner mercenary group said on Sunday that Russia had promised his fighters enough ammunition to stay in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, after threatening to pull out in scathing videos.

Rivalries between Yevgeny Prigozhin and the conventional army had boiled over during the battle for the now-devastated flashpoint, where Wagner is leading the assault.

Russian paramilitary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin on Friday threatened to pull frontline troops out of Bakhmut -- the epicentre of Ukraine's determined fight against Moscow's forces - in an extraordinary attack on military chiefs ahead of an expected offensive by Kyiv.