MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/. Russian Defense Minister Army Gen. Sergey Shoigu has inspected the battlegroup Center’s forward command center in the special operation zone, the Russian defense ministry told reporters on Friday.

During the visit, Shoigu heard a report by the battlegroup’s commander, Lt. Gen. Andrey Mordvichev and the center’s commanding officers about the general situation, the adversary’s maneuvers and the fulfillment of combat tasks in tactical directions.

He thanked the battlegroup’s commanding officers and personnel for conducting a successful offensive in the Krasny Liman direction and advancing to more advantageous positions.

"The Russian defense minister particularly emphasized the need of conducting effective preemptive strikes on adversary troops while pushing them out of their positions. Such measures will allow to save as many lives of Russian servicemen as possible," the ministry added.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported on August 1 that Chief of Russia’s General Staff Valery Gerasimov had inspected the forward command center of the military grouping in the Zaporozhye area.