President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky ,has paid an unannounced visit to Bakhmut, a city on the front lines where Ukrainian and Russian forces have been engaged in a bloody, months-long battle.
According to the presidency, he met with soldiers and presented awards to soldiers.
Bakhmut, which has sustained severe damage, has been a major target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region for months.
The advance has been halted by Ukrainian forces, though.
Presidential spokesman Serhiy Nikiforov said Mr Zelensky had already left the city.
Bakhmut has been a focus of the Russian campaign for months and Moscow has thrown huge resources into capturing it.
It would open the way to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the most important cities in the Donbas region still under Ukrainian control.
Few civilians are now left in the city, which had a population of 70,000 before the war.
Today is the 300th day since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar, who also visited Bakhmut, wrote on Facebook: “What are 300 days in our more than 300-year struggle for liberation from Russia!
“We’re standing. We’re fighting. We’re going to win!”
Source: BBC.com