(Removed reference to Dnieper 4)
KYIV (Reuters) – Volodimir Zelensky said on Saturday he visited the frontline near Mykolav, a strategic town in southern Ukraine where the Russian advance towards Odessa was halted at the start of the war and where the he Ukrainian army has been carrying out a counter-offensive for several days.
The Ukrainian president posted on his Telegram account selfies taken with soldiers in front of what appears to be an anti-bombing shelter, without specifying the date.
“Our brave men. Each of them gives everything he has”, commented Volodimir Zelensky. “We will definitely hold on! We will definitely win!”
The Russian army arrived at the gates of Mykolav shortly after the start of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, but came up against fierce resistance from the Ukrainian forces.
The Russian forces have since been pushed back about 30 kilometers from Mykolav, without ceasing to bombard the city.
“The president inspected the seat of the regional administration of Mykolav which had been destroyed by a missile attack from the Russian forces”, indicated the Ukrainian presidency in a press release.
A Russian missile ripped a hole in the building at the end of March, killing 37 people.
According to the presidency, which broadcast images of Volodimir Zelensky walking in the streets of the city, the head of state also visited a hospital in Mykolav and awarded the medal of courage to the mayor of the city, Oleksandr Senkevych, and to the governor of the region, Vitaly Kim.
This is the second time that Volodimir Zelensky has visited the front since the beginning of the month, after his visit to the Donbass on June 6, when the Ukrainian authorities admitted to suffering heavy losses to delay the progress of the Russian forces.
(Report by Max Hunder, French version Tangi Salan)