Zelensky visits eastern frontline Kharkiv region

KHARKIV

This handout photograph taken and released by Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on July 29, 2024, shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visiting the command outpost of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in the area of Vovchansk, Kharkiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday he had visited Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region bordering Russia, where Moscow's forces launched a surprise ground offensive in May.

The Kharkiv region and the city of Kharkiv, which is the second largest in Ukraine, has been under daily shelling by Russian forces since they invaded in February 2022.

"Kharkiv... The forward command post of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in the area of Vovchansk," Zelensky wrote on social media announcing the visit.

Zelensky described the front in Kharkiv as "one of the most difficult" and told assembled special forces that "the whole country is counting on you."

The Ukrainian military said Monday it had repelled six Russian attacks on the Kharkiv front line over the past day, including Vovchansk.

Russian forces have been trying to capture the small town five kilometres (three miles) from its border since launching the offensive in the Kharkiv region that saw it make significant territorial gains.