
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the region of Donetsk on Tuesday in the aftermath of a fresh barrage of Russian missile strikes. Zelensky called the fighting in Donetsk as “difficult” as the Russian military continued to attack the nearby city of Bakhmut. Parts of Donetsk was regained by the Ukrainian forces after it was annexed by Russia following a number of referendums.
The Donbas region has been the focus of the conflict as the Ukrainian and Russian forces are currently fighting over the regions near Donetsk. Russia suffered a pushback in the Kherson region as the Kremlin asked the military to retreat from the region following Ukrainian resistance.
According to the videos released by the Ukrainian government, Zelensky was seen standing next to a sign with the name of the city Sloviansk and even maintained a moment of silence.
"The east of Ukraine today is the most difficult front. And I am honoured to be here now with our defending troops in Donbas. I believe that next time we will meet in our Ukrainian Donetsk and Lugansk and in Crimea as well," Zelensky said according to Reuters.
Donetsk and Luhansk are currently governed by Russia-backed administrators since 2014 when Crimea decided to join Russia through referendums. "From the bottom of my heart, I congratulate you on this great holiday, the Day of the Armed Forces," Zelensky said during a ceremony.
Sloviansk is 45 kilometres away from Bakhmut and it was previously controlled by Russian forces.
(With inputs from agencies)