At a ministerial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on 24 August, he said Russia's speed of advancement is slowing down because Russia wants to "avoid victims among civilians," Russian media reported.
"During the special operation, we strictly adhere to the norms of humanitarian law. The strikes are carried out with high-precision weapons against the objects of the military infrastructure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - control points, airfields, warehouses, fortified areas, objects of the military-industrial complex. At the same time, everything is done to avoid casualties among peaceful citizens, of course, it slows down the pace of the offensive, but we do it deliberately," Shoigu is quoted as saying.
The last time he made such a statement was on 24 May, during a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, nicknamed the "Russian NATO."
