Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today visited the front in his zone Bahamutthe focus of the fighting in eastern Ukraine, as announced by the press service of the Ukrainian presidency.

“Donetsk Region. Front line positions of the Ukrainian military in the direction of Bakhmut“, Zelensky said in a message on Telegram, releasing a video of his visit.

In the video, the Ukrainian president stands under an aircraft hangar without protective gear but accompanied by heavily armed bodyguards and awards medals to soldiers also armed and in combat uniform.

“It is an honor to be here today to honor our heroes, shake their hand and thank them for defending our country’s sovereignty”Zelensky stated.

“Your destination is so difficult, yet so historic. Defend our land and return it all to Ukraine, for our children”he continued before paying tribute to the soldiers killed “in the east and generally throughout the war”.

Some soldiers took selfies with the head of state, a female soldier hugged him.

Bakhmut, a city of about 70,000 before the Russian invasion that began in February 2022, has been the scene of the longest and bloodiest fighting since the war broke out.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, whose men are on the front lines of this battle, said this week that his forces control about 70 percent of the city.

In recent weeks, Russian forces have advanced north and south of Bakhmut, cutting off many Ukrainian supply routes.

“We can say that the city is almost surrounded»Jan Gagin, a pro-Russian separatist official in eastern Ukraine, said today.

Russian attack on an apartment building in Zaporizhia

At the same time, at least one person was killed and 25 injured today by a Russian strike on a residential building in Zaporizhia, in southern Ukraine, as the city’s mayor announced.

“Unfortunately, one person who was injured, who was in a serious condition, died. According to the information we have so far, 25 are currently hospitalized”, Anatoly Kurtiev wrote on Telegram. President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of “bombards the city with beastly brutality.”

Security camera footage captured the moment of the attack, which caused an explosion and thick smoke billowing from the building.