President Zelenskyy visits Kharkiv Oblast, honors Kupyansk defenders under Russian attacks

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during a trip to Kharkiv Oblast, visited Ukrainian soldiers who are performing tasks for the defense of Kupyansk, reported the press service of the President's Office.

The head of state paid a visit to the soldiers of the 14th Prince Roman the Great Separate Mechanized Brigade.

Zelenskyy heard the report of the brigade commander, Lt. Col. Oleksiy Trubnikov, about the operational situation on the Kupyansk axis and interaction with adjacent units of the Defense Forces.

The commander also told the president about the experience of using drones of various types in the area of responsibility and about the features of combating enemy UAVs using EW systems.

In addition, Zelenskyy met with the military and awarded them the orders of Bohdan Khmelnytsky III class and "For Courage" II-III classes.

"I am glad to be here today – to see you, to congratulate you, to be grateful from all Ukrainians, from all of Ukraine for the fact that you do such a great job every day, for the fact that you protect the state, our families, independence, our sovereignty. I am confident in you. I wish you good health, take care of yourself and your brothers. This is very important. I wish you all victory," he said.

The head of state conferred the title of Hero of Ukraine and awarded the Order of the "Golden Star" to Colonel Oleh Apostol, who has been serving in the Air Assault Forces since 2008, and currently commands the 95th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, earlier said that Vladimir Putin wants to seize Avdiyivka and advance to the Oskol River in Kharkiv Oblast before the "elections" in Russia, which are scheduled for March 2024.