KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited troops leading a counteroffensive towards the eastern war-battered town of Bakhmut, Kyiv said Tuesday.

“As part of a working trip to Donetsk region, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky visited combat brigades conducting offensive operations in the Bakhmut region,” the presidency said.

It added that Zelensky had “listened to reports on the operational situation” on the eastern front.

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Bakhmut, an industrial town that was once home to some 70,000 people, was captured by Russian forces this summer after months of brutal fighting.

Ukrainian troops have been carrying out a grinding assault around the flanks of the town, now reduced to ruins.

Zelensky met with the commanders of the troops in that area and discussed “the problems and needs of the units” including “the provision of artillery shells, missiles for front-line air defence systems.”

On Monday, Zelensky said he had visited the Donetsk region, where Bakhmut is located, posting a video of himself on social media meeting commanders and soldiers in an unnamed location.

The visits came on the heels of Ukraine’s defence minister’s dismissal, and after Kyiv last week claimed some tactical successes.