An extremely symbolic visit.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled on Tuesday to Bakhmout, a city in the east of his country ravaged by intense fighting with Russian forces who have been trying to take it since the summer and currently the hottest point in the world. forehead.
The Ukrainian head of state "met soldiers, spoke with them" on the spot, said the press service of the presidency, without further details.
A video broadcast by Ukrainian state channel Freedom showed him taking a photo of himself alongside soldiers in a building and giving them medals.
President Volodymyr Zelensky greets Ukrainian fighters on the front line in Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast during an unannounced visit on Dec. 20.
Video by Ukrainian public broadcaster Freedom.
pic.twitter.com/mLmJ6RfM4w
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) December 20, 2022
“It seems to me that the heroes of Bakhmout should receive what everyone receives (…) I would like to wish there was light, but the situation is so difficult that there is light, then there no more,” he said, referring to the power cuts after the Russian bombings.
When his arrival was made public, he had already left the city, confirmed one of the spokespersons for the presidency.
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The Ukrainian president has visited several times near the front such as mid-November to Kherson, in the South, after the withdrawal of Russian troops, and to Sloviansk, at the beginning of December, a few tens of kilometers from the eastern front.
This visit to Bakhmout, however, appears to be the riskiest of his trips, as the Russian forces are at the gates of this city.
Meanwhile, Putin decorates soldiers
Volodymyr Zelensky's surprise visit closer to the clashes comes as a challenge to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin who, at the same time, was handing out Kremlin decorations to pro-Russian separatist soldiers and leaders in eastern Ukraine .
“Our country has repeatedly faced challenges and defended its sovereignty.
Today, Russia is again facing the same challenge,” he said on this occasion.
The Russian president has not visited the front or the territories under Russian occupation in Ukraine since the start of the invasion.
On the other hand, he appeared at the beginning of December at the wheel of a car on the Crimean bridge linking Russia to this peninsula annexed in 2014 or in October on a training ground for mobilized soldiers.
