Zelensky visits Ukrainian troops in frontline city of Bakhmut

Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed troops and presented awards during an unannounced visit to the frontline city of Bakhmut on Tuesday.

"I think that the heroes of Bakhmut should have what every person has, that everything should be OK for their children, their families, that they're warm and healthy," Zelensky told troops in an address broadcast on the Freedom TV channel.

The area around the city has seen some of the heaviest fighting in recent months against Russian forces, including the paramilitary Wagner group, sustaining heavy loses in repeated assaults. Numerous Russian aircraft shot down near Bakhmut were flown by pilots from Wagner.

"Since May, the occupiers have been trying to break our Bakhmut, but time goes by and Bakhmut is breaking not only the Russian army, but also the Russian mercenaries who come to replace the wasted army of the occupiers," Zelensky said.

Zelensky has made a number of visits to recently liberated territories including Kherson and Izyum, leading many Ukrainians to mock Putin's comparative reclusiveness during the conflict.

"Zelensky has visited Ukrainians troops in Bakhmut. And now have a look at that joke of a creature called Vladimir Putin," Ukrainian journalist Ilia Ponomarkenko of the Kyiv Independent tweeted Tuesday.