Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised what he called the country’s “heroic defenders” after a visit Tuesday to the eastern city of Bakhmut.
The area has been the site of some of the most intense fighting in the war Russia launched 10 months ago.
In his nightly address Tuesday, Zelenskyy described the effects of the conflict, saying Russian forces have left behind “burned earth, destroyed life, pain, ruins and graves.”
“This is exactly what they are expelling from Ukraine, step by step returning life to our land, where the occupiers set foot,” Zelenskyy said.
“We will do everything possible and impossible, expected and unexpected, so that our heroes have everything they need to prevail. To get the results that all Ukrainians expect. That all our cities and villages on the frontline are waiting for.”
Earlier Tuesday, in a video released by his office from his Bakhmut visit, Zelenskyy was handed a Ukrainian flag and alluded to delivering it to U.S. leaders.
“The guys handed over our beautiful Ukrainian flag with their signatures for us to pass on,” Zelenskyy said in the video. “We are not in an easy situation. The enemy is increasing its army. Our people are braver and need more powerful weapons. We will pass it on from the boys to the Congress, to the president of the United States. We are grateful for their support, but it is not enough. It is a hint — it is not enough.”
Both Zelenskyy and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, praised the courage of their respective troops on Tuesday.
Zelenskyy met with military personnel in a dimly lit building and praised the "courage, resilience and strength" of Ukrainian troops as artillery boomed in the background.
Zelenskyy called Bakhmut, about 600 kilometers east of Kyiv, "the hottest spot on the entire front line," but it has remained under Ukrainian control. It was not clear how he got to Bakhmut.
Putin hailed the "courage and self-denial" of his forces in Ukraine, but his statement came at a ceremony in an opulent and glittering hall at the Kremlin in Moscow.
The Russian leader presented awards to the Moscow-appointed heads of four regions of Ukraine that Russia illegally annexed in September. Most countries throughout the world do not recognize Russia’s proclaimed takeover.
"Our country has often faced challenges and defended its sovereignty," Putin said. "Now, Russia is again facing such challenge. Soldiers, officers and volunteers are showing outstanding examples of courage and self-denial on the front line."
About 100,000 Russian troops were "dead, injured or have deserted" since the invasion began, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Tuesday. He did not give a figure for Ukrainian casualties, but a senior U.S. military official recently said 100,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed and wounded.
Wallace told lawmakers in the House of Commons, "Not one single [Russian] operational commander then in place on February 24 [when the invasion began] is in charge now. Russia has lost significant numbers of generals and commanding officers."
After 300 days of war, the British Defense Ministry tweeted that Ukraine has liberated about 54% of the maximum amount of extra territory Russia seized in the invasion.
Russia now controls about 18% of internationally recognized territory of Ukraine, including those parts of the Donbas and Crimea seized earlier, it said.
Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
