Zelenskyy hands troops bravery medals in Kharkiv in first official visit outside Kyiv

29 May 2022, 17:32 | Updated: 29 May 2022, 17:38

Volodymyr Zelensky visited Kharkiv on Sunday in his first official appearance outside Kyiv since the start of the Russian invasion.

Russia has kept up a bombardment of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, after Ukrainian fighters pushed its forces back from positions near the city several weeks ago.

Dring the trip, regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov, told the Ukrainian president that Russian troops remained in possession of around 30% of the Kharkiv region, while Kyiv's troops had recaptured another 5%.

Mr Syniehubov reported that Russian attacks had destroyed more than 2,000 apartment buildings, with the northern and eastern parts of Kharkiv city particularly affected.

Mr Zelensky also met with Ukrainian soldiers stationed in Kharkiv.

"I feel boundless pride in our defenders. Every day, risking their lives, they fight for Ukraine's freedom," he wrote in a Telegram post.

Whilst handing out bravery medals, Mr Zelenskyy told troops: "I want to thank each of you for your service. You risk your life for all of us and our state."

The Ukrainian Border Guard Service said border areas in the Sumy region, east of Kharkiv, were hit with six unguided missiles. The agency did not mention reports of any casualties.

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Factory destroyed by Russian shell in Kharkiv

Russia claimed its forces destroyed an important Ukrainian ammunition depot in Kryvyi Rih, a city in central Ukraine that is Mr Zelensky's home town.

High-precision missiles struck a depot located "within one of the industrial enterprises", Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

Ukrainian emergency services confirmed an industrial plant in Kryvyi Rih caught fire after a strike by two Russian rockets and sustained "significant damage".

Officials did not say whether it was being used as a military depot.

Russian and Ukrainian troops engaged in close-quarter combat in an eastern Ukraine city on Sunday as Moscow's soldiers, supported by intense shelling, attempted to gain strategic footholds in the region while facing fierce Ukrainian resistance.

Ukrainian regional officials reported that Russian forces were "storming" the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk, where the fighting has knocked out power and mobile phone services and terrorised civilians who have not fled.

It is estimated that 1,500 civilians in the city, which had a pre-war population of around 100,000, have died from the fighting as well as from a lack of medicine and diseases that could not be treated.

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Drone footage captures smouldering remains of Kharkiv

Sievierodonetsk, a manufacturing centre, has emerged as an epicentre of Russia's quest to conquer Ukraine's industrial Donbas region.

Russia also stepped up its efforts to take nearby Lysychansk, where Ukrainian officials reported constant shelling.

The two cities, with a combined pre-war population of around 200,000, are the last major areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk province, which makes up the Donbas together with neighbouring Donetsk.

Russia is focused on capturing parts of both not already controlled by pro-Moscow separatists.

Russian forces have made small advances in recent days as bombardments ate away at Ukrainian positions and kept civilians trapped in basements or desperately trying to get out safely.

Attacks on military targets throughout the country also caused casualties in civilian areas.

In his Saturday night video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the situation in the east as "very complicated" and "indescribably difficult".

The "Russian army is trying to squeeze at least some result" by concentrating its attacks there, he said.