Zelenskiy praises troops during visit to eastern Ukraine

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks with Ukrainian service members at a frontline, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Avdiivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine April 18, 2023. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited troops in the small eastern city of Avdiivka on Tuesday, thanked them for their service and was briefed by commanders on the battlefield situation, his office said.

Avdiivka has been one of the main targets of a Russian winter offensive which was intended to reinvigorate Moscow's full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022, but has made only small territorial advances in the east.