Ukraine’s President Zelensky visits close to war front line near Sievierodonetsk
- President’s trips that were publicly revealed on Sunday were rare outings outside the capital Kyiv
- Zelensky visited near Sievierodonetsk, where one of the war’s biggest ground battles is taking place
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had travelled to Lysychansk and Soledar, two cities very close to some of the most intense fighting between his country’s troops and Russian forces.
The beleaguered city of Lysychansk is just a few kilometres south from Sievierodonetsk, where one of the war’s biggest ground battles is taking place and which Ukraine claims to be regaining more control of.
“I went with the head of (my) office to the east. We were in Lysychansk and Soledar,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address on Sunday, adding he would not elaborate on the visit.
In two separate videos released later, Zelensky, dressed in his trademark khaki T-shirt, is shown talking to troops in confined, bunker-like structures, presenting some with awards and addressing others.
“What you all deserve is victory – that is the most important thing. But not at any cost,” Zelensky said in one of the videos.
The trips that were publicly revealed on Sunday were rare outings by Zelensky outside the capital Kyiv since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24 and could be the closest to the front line yet.