This Tuesday, the Ukrainian president visited a city of Donetsk, a region that Russia declared as part of its territory, after Moscow announced a trip by the Russian president to the also annexed Kherson and Lugansk.
Volodymyr Zelensky was in the city of Avdiivka, near the regional capital Donetsk, which has been one of the hottest spots on the eastern front of the war in Ukraine, according to the French agency AFP.
“I am honored to be here today, to thank you for your service, for the defense of our land,” Zelensky told soldiers in Avdiivka, quoted in a presidential statement, which released photos and a video of the trip.
The Ukrainian announcement came after Moscow announced that Vladimir Putin would travel to Ukraine to visit Russian troop commands in the Kherson (south) and Lugansk (east) regions.
Putin’s visit took place on Monday, according to the official Russian news agency TASS.
Following the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Putin declared the annexation of the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia regions on September 30.
Donetsk and Lugansk, which make up Donbass (east), waged a Russian-backed separatist war against kyiv after Russia invaded and annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014.
Ukraine and the international community in general do not recognize Russian sovereignty in the five annexed regions.
In images released by the Ukrainian presidency, Zelensky appears without a bulletproof vest or helmet, first outside with soldiers and then in a barracks, where he decorated several soldiers.
The video also shows cars, presumably part of the presidential train, driving between destroyed or badly damaged buildings.
“I only wish them victory, what I wish to all Ukrainians,” Zelensky told the soldiers, quoted by AFP.
“I want you to save your lives for Ukraine. With such strong people, after the victory, I am sure that together we will rebuild Ukraine, ”he added.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered a war that plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
The number of civilian and military casualties is unknown, but several sources, including the UN, say it will be very high.
Source: TSF
