May 29 (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited troops on the front lines in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine on Sunday, his first official appearance outside the Kyiv region since inception of the invasion of Russia on February 24.
“You risk your lives for all of us and for our country,” the president’s office website told the soldiers, adding that he handed out compliments and gifts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visits a position of members of the Ukrainian service as Russia continues its attack on Ukraine in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine on May 29, 2022. Presidential press service of Ukraine through REUTERS
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Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, wrote in the Telegram application that the president had also visited Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv.
Yermak said Zelenskiy visited the destroyed residential buildings, noting that their replacements should be built with anti-aircraft shelters in place.
The president’s chief of staff added that 31% of the territory in the Kharkiv region was currently occupied by Russia, and another 5% had been reclaimed by Ukraine after it had been occupied before.
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Report by Max Hunder; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Nick Macfie
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