Ukrainian president hails 'superhuman' troops in visit to frontline city

Who with their bravery prove that we will endure and will not give up what’s ours," Zelenskiy said in comments posted on the Telegram messaging app under photographs of him in Bakhmut. "Ukraine is proud of you. Thank you for the courage, resilience and strength shown in repelling the enemy attacks." The battle for Bakhmut has been long and hard.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited troops in the frontline city of Bakhmut on Tuesday and hailed their "superhuman" fighting in one of the main hotspots of the war in Ukraine.

Zelenskiy's office released video footage showing the president, dressed in khaki, handing out medals to soldiers fighting in eastern Ukraine. "Bakhmut Fortress. Our people. Unconquered by the enemy. Who with their bravery prove that we will endure and will not give up what's ours," Zelenskiy said in comments posted on the Telegram messaging app under photographs of him in Bakhmut.

"Ukraine is proud of you. I am proud of you! Thank you for the courage, resilience and strength shown in repelling the enemy attacks." The battle for Bakhmut has been long and hard. Control of the city, with a pre-war population of 70,000-80,000, could give Russia a stepping stone to advance on bigger Ukrainian cities but Ukrainian forces have held on to Bakhmut.

"The East is holding out because Bakhmut is fighting," Zelenskiy wrote separately in a separate message on Telegram. "In fierce battles and at the cost of many lives, freedom is being defended here for all of us." "Bakhmut defenders deserve our maximum support and our highest gratitude. That's why I am with them today," he wrote. "They are superhumans. They are our strength and our heroes."