President Volodymyr Zelensky visits soldiers at front-line positions near Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast on March 22, 2023. (Photo: President's Office)
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President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Ukrainian soldiers at front-line positions near Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast on March 22, according to the President's Office.
During his visit, Zelensky received updates regarding the situation on the front line.
Additionally, Zelensky presented awards to soldiers for their military service and held a moment of silence for those killed in action.
"I am honored to be here today, in the east of our country, in Donbas, to award our heroes, to thank you, and to shake hands. Thank you for protecting the state, its sovereignty, and the east of Ukraine," Zelensky said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky meets Ukrainian soldiers during his visit to Ukraine's military positions in the Bakhmut area on March 22, 2023. (President's Office)
President Volodymyr Zelensky meets Ukrainian soldiers during his visit to Ukraine's military positions in the Bakhmut area on March 22, 2023. (President's Office)
President Volodymyr Zelensky meets Ukrainian soldiers during his visit to Ukraine's military positions in the Bakhmut area on March 22, 2023. (President's Office)
President Volodymyr Zelensky meets Ukrainian soldiers during his visit to Ukraine's military positions in the Bakhmut area on March 22, 2023. (President's Office)
Ukrainian soldiers meet President Volodymyr Zelensky during his visit to Ukraine's military positions in the Bakhmut area on March 22, 2023. (President's Office)
President Volodymyr Zelensky meets Ukrainian soldiers during his visit to Ukraine's military positions in the Bakhmut area on March 22, 2023. (President's Office)
President Volodymyr Zelensky visits a hospital where injured Ukrainian soldiers are treated during his trip to the east of Ukraine on March 22, 2023. (President's Office)
President Volodymyr Zelensky presents an award to an injured Ukrainian solider at a hospital during his trip to the east of Ukraine on March 22, 2023. (President's Office)
Injured Ukrainian soldiers being treated at a hospital during President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit as part of his trip to the east of Ukraine on March 22, 2023. (President's Office)
President Volodymyr Zelensky presents an award to a Ukrainian solider at a hospital during his trip to the east of Ukraine on March 22, 2023. (President's Office)
The battle of Bakhmut has been raging in Donetsk Oblast for the past eight months, with heavy losses suffered on both sides. However, Ukrainian forces continue to hold the city.
Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar said on March 20 that the Ukrainian military has been successful "in certain areas" and is "destroying Russia's most professional units," namely the state-backed Wagner Group.
U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed that Zelensky would have a say in the process and mentioned the possibility of allowing European nations to purchase U.S.-made weapons for Ukraine.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote on Feb. 16. that he did not take lightly the idea of placing British servicemen and women in harm’s way. "But any role in helping to guarantee Ukraine’s security is helping to guarantee the security of our continent, and the security of this country," he added.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Finnish President Alexander Stubb has emphasized that Ukraine’s membership in the European Union and NATO is non-negotiable, adding that these alliances are essential for ensuring the country’s sovereignty and security.
The U.S. delegates in Munich did not offer any security guarantees in exchange for Ukraine's rare earth minerals, current and former senior Ukrainian officials said.
The U.S administration has told European officials that it hopes to achieve a ceasefire agreement by Easter, which falls on April 20, sources told Bloomberg.
"Russia is increasingly waging an illegal war of aggression against Ukraine while continuing its domestic repression, persecuting those who advocate for democracy," EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said.
"Ukraine will have to be involved, because they're the one that were invaded, and the Europeans will have to be involved because they have sanctions on Putin and Russia as well," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
Russia is training 150,000 troops in Belarus for a large-scale operation that could happen as early as this summer, Zelensky said. "There are risks that this can be Poland and Lithuania."
"This was done deliberately to leave people without heat in below-zero temperatures and create a humanitarian catastrophe," wrote Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
"If there is a negotiating table, I think we need to do something similar to what was done in Kosovo. Europe needs to have a special envoy," Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on Feb. 16 at the Munich Security Conference.
There will be no joint European Union army to counter Russian aggression and compensate any withdrawal in U.S. support, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said to local television late on Feb. 15, Reuters reported.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 15 that success “already feels possible” as his administration begins working on negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump’s team to end the war.
The Group of Seven (G7) countries agreed to link any future tightening of sanctions against Russia to the progress of upcoming peace negotiations, after a meeting on Feb. 15.
European leaders are set to gather in Paris on Feb. 17 for an emergency summit over concerns that the U.S. is advancing peace talks with Russia without Europe, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski announced on Feb. 15.
The U.S. has asked European countries to outline their potential security and peacekeeping contributions to Ukraine as part of any future peace negotiations with Russia, the Financial Times reported on Feb. 15, citing undisclosed sources.
U.S. President Donald Trump's phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin was a mistake, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said at the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 15.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky, denied on Feb. 15 that Ukraine will participate in an upcoming meeting between Russia and the United States in Saudi Arabia.
U.S. Deputy Assistant State Secretary Christopher W. Smith visited Belarus alongside two other U.S. officials in an unannounced meeting on Feb. 12, the New York Times reported, potentially ending Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's isolation from the West.
Russian-controlled Transnistria has hosted Russian forces for decades following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russian troops have guarded the region, stalling any attempts for reintegration with Moldova.