Putin and Zelenskiy visit troops near front line

The Ukrainian and Russian leaders have paid visits to their respective forces fighting in eastern Ukraine, as shelling killed and injured civilians in the region.

“I have the honour to be here today, to thank you for your service, for defending our land, Ukraine, our families,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy told soldiers on Tuesday in Avdiivka, a frontline town in the partly occupied Donetsk region.

“I wish you only victory – this is what I wish for every Ukrainian, this is what is very important to all of us,” he added, while awarding state medals to some soldiers and giving them all greetings for Easter, which many Orthodox Christians celebrated last weekend.

The Kremlin said Russian president Vladimir Putin met senior officers in occupied areas of Ukraine’s Kherson and Luhansk regions, and gave them Orthodox icons for Easter.

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“I don’t want to distract you from your direct responsibilities of managing the troops, so we’ll be working here in a business-like manner, in a brief but concrete way,” Russian state media showed Mr Putin telling officers.

“It is important for me to hear your opinions on how the situation is developing, to listen to you and exchange information,” he added.

Russia has focused its forces and firepower on Donetsk and Luhansk provinces for several months to try to destroy Ukrainian lines, but has made only minor gains and still faces fierce resistance inside the ruined city of Bakhmut after weeks of street fighting for the regional road and rail hub.

“Our army has already broken the enemy’s plans to break through the defences ... in the east. The next task is to reverse the situation and throw them out of Ukraine,” Mr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak said during their visit to Avdiivka, which he described as “another fortress city”.

Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukrainian ground forces, said Russian troops were attacking in several places along the front line, but Bakhmut remained the “epicentre” of hostilities.

“The enemy concentrates its greatest efforts there and does not give up its goal of seizing the city at any cost. Currently, the enemy is increasing the use of heavy artillery and the number of air strikes, reducing the city to ruins,” he reported on Tuesday.

“At the same time, our fighters inflict significant losses on the enemy and significantly slow down its offensive actions. Battles for Bakhmut continue. The situation is currently under control.”

Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday morning that Russian shelling had killed at least three civilians in Luhansk region over the previous 24 hours. Later in the day, they reported that fresh attacks had killed one civilian and injured nine others in Kherson region, and wounded eight people in Donetsk region when artillery fire hit apartment blocks and a market.

In Moscow, meanwhile, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu met Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu and praised growing military and other ties between their countries.