Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday that the slowing pace of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine was deliberate, and driven by the need to reduce civilian casualties.
Speaking at a meeting of defence ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Uzbekistan, Shoigu said: "Everything is being done to avoid casualties among civilians. Of course, this slows down the pace of the offensive, but we are doing this deliberately."
Russia's war effort in Ukraine has made little progress in recent months , after its troops were pushed back from Kyiv in the early weeks of the war.
(Reporting by Reuters)
