This handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on October 3, 2023 shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (R) visiting the location of the 103rd Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the 68th Separate Yeger Brigade, and the 25th Separate Sicheslav Airborne Brigade, which are performing combat missions in the Kupyansk-Lyman area, in Kharkiv region. (AFP)

Russia Ukraine conflict

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy visiting frontline areas in eastern Ukraine

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AFP, Kyiv

Published: 03 October ,2023: 03:52 PM GST Updated: 03 October ,2023: 06:08 PM GST

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said Tuesday he was visiting Ukrainian troops near the eastern frontline, where Russian forces have been pressuring Kyiv’s army in areas they recaptured recently.

Ukraine launched a highly-anticipated counteroffensive against Russian positions in the south and east but progress has been slow and Russian forces are also pushing back in the north east.

“Today we are visiting our brigades performing combat missions in one of the hottest areas (of the frontline) - Kupiansk-Lyman,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on social media.

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Video footage released by the presidency showed Zelenskyy speaking to servicemen and putting his signature on a flag representing one of the brigades.

Zelenskyy said he had “discussed the operational situation on the battlefield, current issues and needs with commanders of brigades and battalions.”

The Ukrainian leader also said he had inspected foreign-supplied weapons, including Leopard 2 tanks, for which Kyiv lobbied its allies before receiving them this year.

The town of Kupiansk and the surrounding areas of the northeastern region of Kharkiv were recaptured by Ukrainian forces in September 2022.

But Moscow has since pushed back into the region, forcing Ukraine to order civilian evacuations.

In the east of the country meanwhile, the Ukrainian commander responsible for ground forces said his troops were “moving forward in the east and capturing Russians.”

The officer, Oleksandr Syrskiy, is responsible for Ukraine’s fight around the war-battered city of Bakhmut captured by Russia in May.

Ukrainian and Russian forces are also fighting for the control of the southern Kherson region, partially occupied by Russia.

Shelling on Ukrainian-controlled parts of the Kherson region killed one and wounded four others, the regional prosecutor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

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