KYIV (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met troops in southeastern Ukraine on Monday, the latest stage of a tour of frontline regions since a top general said a counterattack against Russian forces could come soon.
“I am honoured to be here today, next to our military,” Zelenskiy he wrote in a post on the Telegram messaging app that was accompanied by footage of him handing out medals to troops in the Zaporizhzhia region.
In separate trips last week, Zelenskiy met soldiers in eastern Ukraine near the small city of Bakhmut, where fighting is intense, and spoke to officials and residents in the southern region of Kherson, where Ukrainian forces pushed back Russian troops last year after months of occupation.
Ukraine’s ground forces commander said on Monday Kyiv was planning its next move after Moscow shifted the focus of its offensive from a flagging assault on Bakhmut to the town of Avdiivka further south.
“I am thankful to each of our warriors for defending Ukraine, our sovereignty, our cities, and our children,” Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram. “We will definitely win.”
(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk, Editing by Gareth Jones and Timothy Heritage)
