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Ukraine war: Zelensky visits ruined frontline near Bakhmut Ukraine war: Zelensky visits front line near Bakhmut as Russia targets cities
(about 2 hours later)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited the frontline near Bakhmut where fierce fighting rages on. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has returned to the front line near Bakhmut where fighting has raged for months.
The beleaguered city has become a focal point of the war, with Russia trying to capture it for months. The devastated city has long been a focal point of the war as Russian forces try to revive their military campaign in the east.
The UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Ukrainian forces recently launched a counter-attack to the west of the city. His visit came as Russian forces launched a series of strikes on Ukrainian cities.
Mr Zelensky's visit comes after Russian forces attacked Ukrainian cities overnight, killing at least four people in a drone strike near the capital. At least eight people were killed near Kyiv and in Zaporizhzhia.
The Ukrainian leader thanked troops around Bakhmut for their defence of the city and country, a statement said. Ukraine's military said it shot down 16 drones, but another five got through.
"I am honoured to be here today," the Ukrainian president told his servicemen, "in the east of our country, in Donbas, and to award our heroes, to thank you, to shake your hands." Seven people died in an attack on student dormitories near the capital in Rzhyschiv. Then a rocket slammed into a block of flats in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, leaving one dead and 25 wounded. Local leaders said the number of victims could rise.
Bakhmut lies in ruins. For more than seven months, it has witnessed fierce fighting as Russian forces try to make territorial gains to please the Kremlin. While President Zelensky condemned Russia's "bestial" attacks on civilians, he also visited the eastern front line, where Ukrainian forces have held Russia at bay for more than seven months. He last visited the area in December.
Footage released by the President's office showed him in an old industrial warehouse giving medals to battle-weary soldiers. "I am honoured to be here today," he told servicemen, "in the east of our country, in Donbas, and to award our heroes, to thank you, to shake your hands."
Why Bakhmut matters for Russia and UkraineWhy Bakhmut matters for Russia and Ukraine
The MoD said Ukraine's counter-attack to the west of Bakhmut was likely to relieve pressure on the main supply route to the city - and said Russia's attack on the city could be losing momentum. UK military intelligence said on Wednesday that a Ukrainian counter-attack to the west of Bakhmut was likely to relieve pressure on the main supply route to the city, and that Russia's attack on the city could be losing the "limited momentum" it had.
"Fighting continues around the town centre and the Ukrainian defence remains at risk from envelopment from the north and south," the statement added."Fighting continues around the town centre and the Ukrainian defence remains at risk from envelopment from the north and south," the statement added.
"However, there is a realistic possibility that the Russian assault on the town is losing the limited momentum it had obtained, partially because some Russian [military] units have been reallocated to other sectors." Meanwhile, Russian occupation officials in Crimea said that a drone attack on the port city of Sevastopol had been repelled, days after President Vladimir Putin visited the city.
Earlier, Mr Zelensky said Moscow had launched more than 20 "killer drones", as well as missiles and shells. Explosions were reported by residents, but the Russian-installed governor said three "objects" targeting the Black Sea Fleet had been destroyed and Russian warships were not damaged.
Drone strikes on a residential area of Kyiv region hit upper floors of two student dormitories in the city of Rzhyshchiv. Four people were killed and an 11-year-old was among the wounded, rescue services said. A three-storey school building was also hit. There was no comment from Ukraine's military, which said earlier this week it had destroyed missiles destined for the fleet at a rail hub in Dzhankoi in northern Crimea.
Meanwhile officials said a person had died and 25 more were injured in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, which was also hit. Ukraine's cities were hit by drones in the early hours of Wednesday and later by rockets.
Rescue services searched for survivors after the upper floors of two student dormitories were hit in the city of Rzhyshchiv in Kyiv region. At least seven people were killed, including an ambulance driver, police said. Among the nine wounded was an 11-year-old boy.
Hours later, two missiles crashed into nine-storey blocks of flats in Zaporizhzhia, setting two buildings on fire. Officials said one person died in hospital and another 25 people were wounded.
A number of flats were destroyed by the blasts and an air force spokesman indicated they might have been hit by Tornado-S rockets, which have a maximum range of 120km (75 miles).
In a tweet, Mr Zelensky said residential areas in Zaporizhzhia were being targeted and it could not become "just another day" in Ukraine or the rest of the world.In a tweet, Mr Zelensky said residential areas in Zaporizhzhia were being targeted and it could not become "just another day" in Ukraine or the rest of the world.
Watch: Apartment block hit by Russian missiles in ZaporizhzhiaWatch: Apartment block hit by Russian missiles in Zaporizhzhia
Watch: Apartment block hit by Russian missiles in ZaporizhzhiaWatch: Apartment block hit by Russian missiles in Zaporizhzhia
Ukraine's military said 16 of the 21 drones launched on Wednesday from the Bryansk region of Russia, north of Ukraine's border, were shot down. The Russian attacks came a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping completed a two-day visit to Moscow, promoting a 12-point peace plan.
Referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping's departure from Russia hours earlier, the Ukrainian leader said that every time "someone tries to hear the word 'peace' in Moscow", another order was given to launch attacks. The Ukrainian president noted that every time "someone tries to hear the word 'peace' in Moscow", another order was given to launch attacks.
On Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin said that many provisions of a 12-point Chinese peace plan "can be taken as the basis for [the] settling of the conflict in Ukraine, whenever the West and Kyiv are ready for it". President Putin said earlier that many of the Chinese proposals "can be taken as the basis for [the] settling of the conflict in Ukraine, whenever the West and Kyiv are ready for it".
The plan makes no specific proposals and does not call explicitly for Russian forces to leave Ukraine's sovereign territory.The plan makes no specific proposals and does not call explicitly for Russian forces to leave Ukraine's sovereign territory.
Separately, officials in Russian-annexed Crimea said a Ukrainian drone attack on their fleet were repulsed.
Explosions were reported by residents in the port city of Sevastopol.
The head of Russia's occupation authority Mikhail Razvozhaev said three "objects" targeting the Black Sea Fleet had been destroyed and Russian warships were not damaged.
There was no comment from Ukraine's military, which said earlier this week it had destroyed missiles destined for the fleet at a rail hub in Dzhankoi in northern Crimea.
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