The president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, visited the east of the country this Sunday for the first time since the start of the Russian invasion. The president arrived in Kharkov, the country’s second largest city, from which the invaders have withdrawn in recent weeks, after heavy fighting with local forces. The Ukrainian president wanted, with his visit, to pay tribute to the troops.
“I want to thank each of you for your service. They risk their lives for all of us and for our state. Thank you for defending Ukraine’s independence,” Zelensky said. “I feel infinite pride for our defenders”, he added on his Telegram channel, after meeting with the governor of the region, Oleg Siniehubov.
“There are 2.31 Destroyed houses in Kharkov and the entire region. We are going to restore them, we are going to rebuild them and we are going to bring life back. In Kharkiv and in all the other cities and villages where the evil came,” Zelensky declared. The images show him dressed in his khaki-colored outfit and bulletproof vest, inspecting the destruction, as well as disabled vehicles abandoned by the invaders on the side of the road, accompanied by collaborators and armed soldiers.
“We will defend our land”2022
“In this war, the invaders try to obtain a result, whichever is . But they should understand long ago as we will defend our land to the end. They have no way out, we will fight and win,” Zelensky said. Currently, the invading troops control 31 percent of the Kharkov region.
The city of Kharkov, bombed almost daily since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, has been experiencing a pause for a few weeks with the departure of the troops Russians in other directions, in the east and south of Ukraine. The eastern part of the city, however, continues to be bombarded at times by Russian artillery. Without going any further, shortly after Zelensky’s visit, explosions were heard in the city.