On a rare trip to the front line, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky visited soldiers in the city of Kharkiv.
His country’s troops succeeded in pushing back the Russian forces from their positions around the northeastern city several weeks ago.
“I feel boundless pride in our defenders. Every day, risking their lives, they fight for Ukraine’s freedom,” Mr Zelensky said after his visit. Long-distance Russian bombardments were heard in the area on the same day as his trip.
The Kremlin’s attack on the city has gutted more than 2,000 residential buildings, the regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said. The Ukrainian army has recaptured another 5 per cent of the region, he added, saying that Russian forces still control about 30 per cent of the territory.
However, most of Russia’s focus is on the eastern Donbas region, which comprises the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk. Mr Zelensky admitted on Saturday evening that the battle there “indescribably difficult”, not long after he said up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers were dying in the Donbas each day.
The fighting in Luhansk was “extremely escalated”, according to its governor Serhiy Gaidai, who said dozens of buildings had been destroyed over the last few days.
