Putin meets with military commanders in occupied Ukraine

Russian president meets newly-promoted air service chief

Vladimir Putin meets with commanders in southern Kherson (RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS OFFIC)

Vladimir Putin has met with his military commanders in two occupied areas of Ukraine, while Russian forces up artillery bombardments and air strikes on the devastated city of Bakhmut.

The Kremlin said the Russian president attended a military command meeting in the Kherson region and visited a national guard headquarters in eastern Luhansk on Monday.

Among the military leaders to meet with Mr Putin was air force commander Mikhail Teplinsky - who the British Military of Defence said had likely been given a major role in the war.

Moscow claims to have annexed four Ukrainian regions but its forces are locked in a grinding artillery battle in the eastern Donbas with heavy losses on both sides, while they have been forced to pull back in southern Kherson, which Mr Putin visited.

Russian troops retreated from the city of Kherson in November and have been reinforcing their positions on the opposite bank of the Dnipro river in anticipation of a Ukrainian attack.

Dressed in a heavy blue jacket, Mr Putin, 70, was shown on Russian state television descending from a military helicopter and greeting the military commanders in the occupied regions on Monday.

Vladimir Putin meets Russian generals in occupied Ukraine (AFP)

The Kremlin said Mr Putin heard reports from airborne forces and the "Dnieper" army group.

“It is important for me to hear your opinion on how the situation is developing, to listen to you, to exchange information,” Mr Putin told the commanders, according to the Kremlin.

Colonel general Teplinsky, commander of Russia’s airborne troops, and colonel general Oleg Makarevich sat on either side of Mr Putin.

Mr Putin spoke to promoted colonel general Mikhail Teplinsky (AFP)

British military intelligence had said of Mr Teplinsky on Sunday: “Teplinsky, commander of Russia’s corps of airborne troops, the VDV, has highly likely returned to a major role in Ukraine.

“Teplinsky is likely one of the few senior Russian generals widely respected by the rank-and-file.”

Mr Putin also visited national guard headquarters in Ukraine’s Luhansk region in the eastern Donbas, which Moscow has also claimed to have annexed along with the adjacent Donetsk region.

Mr Putin was shown presenting servicemen with a copy of an icon. “The head of state also congratulated the servicemen on the Easter holiday and gave them copies of icons as a gift,” the Kremlin said.

Russia’s Orthodox Church celebrated Easter on 16 April.

It comes as Russian forces are ramping up their use of heavy artillery and air strikes in Bakhmut, according to the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces said on Tuesday.

Fighting in and around Bakhmut has for months been the epicentre of the war in Ukraine.

“Currently, the enemy is increasing the activity of heavy artillery and the number of air strikes, turning the city into ruins,” general Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a statement.

He said Russia remained committed to taking Bakhmut “at any cost” but was suffering significant losses in the battle for the city.