President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that he had visited Lysychansk and Soledar, two cities very close to some of the most intense fighting on the eastern front between Ukrainian troops and Russian forces.
The besieged city of Lysychansk is located a few kilometers south of Severodonetsk, where one of the largest ground battles of the war continues to erupt and over which Ukraine claims to be regaining more control.
“I am proud of everyone I met, with whom I shook hands, with whom I communicated, with whom I supported,” Zelensky said in his nightly video after his visit.
“Each family has its own story. Most were without men.
“Someone’s husband went to war, someone is in captivity, someone, unfortunately, died. A tragedy. Neither home nor loved one. But we have to live for children. The real heroes are among us.” .
In two separate videos released later, Mr. Zelensky was seen dressed in his khaki T-shirt, talking to troops in bunker-like closed structures, handing out some prizes and addressing others.
“What you all deserve is victory, that’s the most important thing. But not at any cost,” Zelensky said in one of the videos.
Visits were rare outbreaks of the president outside the capital Kyiv since the start of the Russian invasion, and could be the closest to the front line so far.
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