[1/2] Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu chairs a meeting with the leadership of the Armed Forces in Moscow, Russia, in this picture released September 5, 2023. He was referring to a village located on heights south of Bakhmut, seen as critical to recapturing the city. Russian forces had been dealt "a good kick" near the village of Novoyehorivka which halted their advance, he said. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu dismissed the offensive as a failure, while admitting that things were far from easy in parts of southeastern Zaporizhzhia region that Moscow controls. "Ukraine's armed forces have not achieved their goals on any front," the defence ministry quoted Shoigu as saying.

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Persons: Sergei Shoigu, Kyiv's, Ilya Yevlash, Yevlash, Ukraine's, Shoigu, Serhiy Zgurets, Natalia Humeniuk, Nick Starkov, Ron Popeski, Andrew Osborn, Lincoln Organizations: Russian Defence, Armed Forces, Russian Defence Ministry, REUTERS Acquire, Russian, Espreso, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Kyiv, Azov, Bakhmut, Lyman, Novoyehorivka, Melitopol, Crimea, Zaporizhzhia, Western