Kyiv, 15 August 2023 (dpa/MIA) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited several units positioned north of the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut.

 

"I thank you for protecting the lives of our people," Zelensky said in a video released on Monday, which was taken at a reception centre for wounded soldiers fighting on the front.

 

Zelensky then presented awards to soldiers.

 

It was important to talk to the soldiers in person, Zelensky said in his evening video address, which he appeared to have recorded on the way back on the train. In it, he also said that Ukraine must expand drone production and imports, adding that this would protect human lives on the front lines.

 

The president was accompanied by the head of his office, Andrii Yermak, and Brigadier General Artem Bogomolov.

 

Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar had earlier in the day announced that Ukrainian units had recaptured 3 square kilometres of land south of Bakhmut last week.

 

In total, Ukrainian troops around Bakhmut have recaptured 40 square kilometres since the start of their counteroffensive more than 10 weeks ago, she said.

 

Bakhmut, seen as a prize by Moscow, was the site of months of brutal fighting.

 

The small city in the Donetsk region was taken by the Wagner mercenary group and Russian soldiers in May. Most of Bakhmut's pre-war population of about 70,000 are gone and the city lies in ruins.

 

Ukraine has been fending off a Russian invasion for over 17 months with Western help. However, including the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in 2014, Moscow continues to occupy more than 100,000 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory.

 

Kiev's forces have struggled to break through the entrenched layers of Russian defences on the eastern and southern fronts, but frequently report making small gains.

 

Maliar went on to say that Ukrainian units have established themselves in the village of Urozhaine, in the southern part of the Donetsk region.

 

She also spoke of fierce fighting south of the neighbouring village of Staromaiorske, which was liberated just over a fortnight ago.

 

In addition, there was "very intense fighting" in the Kharkiv and Luhansk regions, Maliar reported.

 

Maliar also confirmed that Ukrainian units had made advances during limited raids on the Russian-occupied bank of the Dnipro River in the southern Kherson region. But she stressed that they had not yet established themselves there, which would mark a significant gain for Kiev.

 

"In order to establish a foothold, you have to displace the enemy, clear the territory," Maliar said.

 

Meanwhile, Russian attacks on Ukraine piled up on Monday as Moscow's forces hit both Odessa in the south and Zaporizhzhya further east.

 

Rescue workers found two people dead in the rubble of two apartment buildings in Zaporizhzhya, authorities said. Three people were rescued.

 

In Odessa, three employees of a large supermarket were injured in a Russian airstrike targeting the Ukrainian port city early on Monday, according to Ukrainian authorities.

 

Falling missile fragments damaged the supermarket and a dormitory and fires had broken out, Odessa Governor Oleh Kiper said in a statement.

 

The Russian army reportedly deployed 15 drones and fired eight Kalibr cruise missiles at the port city from the Black Sea. They were all intercepted, according to Kiper.

 

Russia has been blocking Ukrainian grain exports via Odessa and other Black Sea ports since mid-July, following its withdrawal from the grain deal with Ukraine, and has since shelled the city heavily several times.

 

In Washington, the Defence Department said is providing Ukraine with further military aid in the amount of $200 million, which includes ammunition for HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, Javelin anti-tank missiles and spare parts.

 

The US says it has provided or pledged military aid worth more than $43 billion to Kiev since February 2022.