Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has rarely left the country’s capital, Kyiv, since the beginning of the Russian occupation, visited the southern Ukraine’s Mykolaiv and Odessa regions on Saturday.
A video released by the Ukrainian presidency shows Zelenky inspecting a heavily damaged regional administration building. In the footage, local governor Vitaliy Kim shows the damage to the building where there is a large hole through which it is possible to see inside the properties.
Later, the president visited the frontline troops in Mykolaiv and the Odessa border region, according to a statement from his office.
Speaking to the soldiers fighting in Odessa, Zelensky said, “It is important that you survive. There will be a strong Ukrainian wall that protects our country as long as you live.”
Earlier, the president attended a meeting with local officials in what appeared to be a basement, where he presented them with awards for their bravery.
According to the presidential office, they “talked about the state of the economy, the resumption of water supply, and the state of agriculture”.
This displacement comes a day after a Russian attack that left two dead and 20 wounded in this port and industrial city of about half a million people before the war.
The town is the target of Russian attacks as it is on the road to Odessa, Ukraine’s main port, 130 km southwest.
More “destruction”
On land, intense fighting is raging in cities in the Donbass region, where large areas are occupied by Russian troops.
“Now the fiercest battle is near Severodonetsk,” said Sergei Gaidai, governor of the Lugansk region, adding that Russian forces do not control the entire city.
Gaidai also reported that there were “hard” clashes in Toshkivska and Zoloth, and that the city of Lysychansk, separated from Severodonetsk by a river, was “hardly bombed.”
Gaidai also announced further “destruction” at the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk, which is home to 568 refugees, including 38 children. And in Lysychansk, residents are preparing to flee.
Waiting for the moment with her son-in-law Volodymyr and her 14-year-old granddaughter, teacher Alla Bor said, “We leave everything and leave. No one will survive such an attack.”
“We left the house. We left food for our dog. It’s inhumane but what else can we do?” he asks.
source: Noticias
[author_name]
