Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi visited on Friday the troops defending Avdiivka, a city in the Donetsk region that is surrounded by Russian troops and is currently one of the hottest spots on the front, France Presse and EFE agencies reported, cited by Agerpres.
“I personally congratulated the fighters. Together with the commander, he assessed the defense situation and the necessary needs of our troops,” Zelenskyy wrote on social networks.
“Thanks to these soldiers, our country endures. From those who, despite all the difficulties, protect our country,” he noted his soldiers.
The President of Ukraine accompanied his message with images in which he apparently took a picture of himself in front of a road sign at the entrance to Avdiyivka, declaring that in the battle for this city, which became the main target of the Russian offensive, “the whole country” is being defended and “the fight is going on for life”.
Avdiyivka He visited the positions of the 110th separate mechanized brigade named after Mark Bezruchka. One of the most difficult points of the front line.
I personally thanked the soldiers. With the commander, we reviewed the state of defense and the basic needs of our troops. Honored the best servicemen… pic.twitter.com/NRQdoB6tOy
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@ZelenskyyUa) December 29, 2023
In other images, Zelensky greets soldiers and officers in the underground fortification and presents them with awards.
I also visited a military hospital in the Donetsk region. It is important to talk to our soldiers and mark them with awards.
I am infinitely grateful to our army medics. Every act of help now is an act of our collective power.
I thank them for healing, saving and bringing our… pic.twitter.com/aZPMk5zVeP
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@ZelenskyyUa) December 29, 2023
The Ukrainian army returned to defense
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valery Zaluzhnyi, previously promised that the army would defend Avdiyivka as long as it could, but reiterated that it was important to preserve the lives of the soldiers.
After a failed counteroffensive in the summer, Ukraine’s army is now back on the defensive as Russian troops attack along several fronts and this week announced the capture of the town of Marinka, while the Ukrainian army says it has retreated to its outskirts.
For months, the Russian army has been trying to capture Avdiyivka, an industrial city in Donbas that the Ukrainian army turned into a fortress in 2014, when the first armed conflict took place with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Zelensky’s visit to the front fell on the day when Ukraine suffered the heaviest Russian bombardment since the first days of the war. Ukrainian targets in the vicinity of the capital Kyiv and the cities of Lviv (west), Odesa (south), Dnipro (center), Zaporizhzhia (south) and Kharkiv (northeast) were attacked by missiles and drones, while Russia claims that it hit Ukrainian targets of the military-industrial complex, military airfields, ammunition depots and locations of Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries.
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Source: Hot News
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