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June 18 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday visited the southern city of Mykolaiv where forces have been fending off Russian troops trying to move west toward the port of Odessa. In posts on his official Telegram page, Zelensky is seen honoring doctors during a tour of a local hospital and handing medals to troops in the Odessa region.
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The visit occurred ahead of a professional holiday honoring medical workers and the Ukrainian leader "thanked the doctors for their difficult and important work," officials said.
The official channel also showed Zelensky on a tour of the restoration of a residential building in Odessa, which was hit by a rocket on April 23.
"The victims included eight people, including a three-month old baby," the post read. "This is a terrible crime for which there are no excuses. We will definitely renovate this house so that all residents can return to their homes."
Meanwhile, Russian forces battled over a highway in the Luhansk region of Donbas that serves as a key supply route near Ukraine's city of Severodonetsk, the region's governor said Saturday.
"They are trying to establish full control over the regional center and 'cut' the Lysychansk-Bakhmut route," Regional Gov. Serhiy Haidai said in a Telegram post.
He said street fighting continues in Severodonetsk, an industrial center in Luhansk oblast, which has become critical in Moscow's attempts to control the Donbas area. Russian forces, however, have not yet seized full control of the city.
The Luhansk oblast along with Donetsk in eastern Ukraine is collectively known as the Donbas region. It has been partially controlled by Russian-backed separatists since 2014.
Russian and separatist officials have claimed they are trying to set up humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians trapped inside Severodonetsk, according to an update Saturday from the British Ministry of Defense.
They said Ukrainian civilians "are likely to be suspicious of using the proposed corridor."
"Options to leave are limited by the destruction of bridges, and Russia's proposed route would take them toward the town of Svatova, deeper inside Russian-occupied territory," the ministry added.
Since the Russia-Ukraine war began on Feb. 24, at least 4,509 civilians have been killed and 5,585 civilians have been injured, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Friday update noted that actual civilian casualties may be considerably higher due to delayed reports and many reports still pending corroboration.
A funeral held in central Kyiv Saturday to honor a prominent activist turned soldier, Roman Ratushny, 24, who was killed in the fighting near the eastern city of Izyum, Kharkiv oblast, earlier this month.
