Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky made a trip to the frontline on Sunday as the battle for eastern Ukraine continued to rage.
Mr Zelensky met soldiers in Lysychansk and Soledar, cities located close to Sievierodonetsk, the main focus of Russia’s assault in the Donbas, an area which comprises the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk.
Ukrainians and Russians have been engaged in a fierce battle over Sievierodonetsk in recent weeks, with much of the city destroyed by shelling from the Kremlin’s forces. Thousands of civilians are believed to remain trapped there.
"I went with the head of [my] office to the east. We were in Lysychansk and Soledar," Mr Zelensky said in his daily night-time address, without giving further details.
In videos released by his office, the Ukrainian president can be seen speaking with and presenting awards to soldiers in a bunker.
During his visit, Mr Zelensky, who was dressed in his trademark khaki uniform, thanked Ukrainian soldiers for their bravery. “What you all deserve is victory – that is the most important thing. But not at any cost,” he said.
Earlier on Sunday, the president spent time with frontline troops in the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, where he also met people displaced from the flattened city of Mariupol, which Russia captured last month after a weeks-long siege.
Further east, Russian forces aim to capture Sievierodonetsk as part of its bid to seize the whole Donbas region. However, they face fierce resistance from the Ukrainian army.
The Ukrainian position in Sievierodonetsk, the epicentre of the battle for eastern Ukraine, has “worsened a little”, the governor of Luhansk province said on Monday.
"The fiercest fighting is in Sievierodonetsk. Fast-moving fighting is happening right now," Serhiy Gaidai said.
"Our defenders managed to undertake a counterattack for a certain time; they liberated almost half of the city. But now the situation has worsened a little for us again," he added.
In other developments, the UK confirmed it will send long-distance weapons to Ukraine, hours after Russia targeted a site in Kyiv, where it claimed tanks sent by eastern European countries were being stored.
The British defence secretary Ben Wallace said Britain will give Kyiv M270 launchers, which can fire rockets up to a distance of 80km (50 miles).
“The UK stands with Ukraine in this fight and is taking a leading role in supplying its heroic troops with the vital weapons they need to defend their country from unprovoked invasion,” the British minister said.
“These highly capable multiple-launch rocket systems will enable our Ukrainian friends to better protect themselves against the brutal use of long-range artillery, which Putin’s forces have used indiscriminately to flatten cities,” he added.
