Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says forces advancing ‘in all directions’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited Ukrainian forces fighting on the front line that runs through the eastern Donetsk region and the south of the country, decorating troops on a day in which he said his forces had “advanced in all directions”.

In an upbeat message to his nation after visiting the front lines, Zelenskyy said: “This is a happy day. I wished the guys more days like this.”

“It was a busy day, a lot of emotions… I was honoured to award our warriors, to thank them personally, to shake their hands,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address, which was released in the early hours of Tuesday.

The Ukrainian president also said he had spoken about weapons supplies with United States President Joe Biden.

“Today, I was in the area where these weapons will give more power, more protection to Ukrainians’ lives. And bring our victory closer, this is the main thing. All our land will be free – all of it,” he said.

The president’s office posted four videos of Zelenskyy’s journey on Monday, which he said covered “hundreds of kilometres” and appeared to present encounters with his troops in at least three locations on the front lines.

The Ukrainian leader’s interactions with his forces and positive comments on Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive contrasted starkly with the turmoil in Russia following the short-lived weekend mutiny by the Russian Wagner Group’s mercenary forces.

One location visited by Zelenskyy was in the eastern Donetsk region, which has been a focal point of fighting in the 16-month-old war. Another was located in what was described as the Berdyansk sector in the south of the country – in areas where Ukrainian forces have captured villages. A third location was also on the southern front, further to the west.