Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he has visited troops near the town of Pokrovsk, where the fiercest front line battle between Russia and Ukraine is currently taking place.
Zelensky posted photos showing him meeting personnel at a command post in the Dobropillya sector, some 20km north of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region.
Kyiv's top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskiy, said on Monday that Ukraine was increasing pressure on the Dobropillya front to force the enemy to disperse its forces and make it impossible to concentrate their main efforts in the Pokrovsk area.
Both Ukraine and Russia continue to issue claims and counter-claims about the situation in and around Pokrovsk. Capturing this town could give Moscow access to other strategic areas within Donetsk. However, Zelensky asserted that Ukrainian forces are committed to defending their territory.
The unprecedented violence has devastated the once-thriving town, which has been significantly emptied of civilians and largely destroyed. Russian forces have infiltrated the area, leading to intense confrontations, drawing in considerable attention from foreign military analysts.
In recent developments, a large-scale drone attack targeted Ukraine's southern port of Odesa, resulting in civilian casualties, while Ukrainian forces retaliated against military targets within Russia.
