'Forward towards victory': Zelenskiy makes surprise visit to liberated city

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, made a surprise visit to the frontline of the war yesterday when he toured the north-eastern city of Izium, which Ukrainian forces recaptured last week as part of their stunning counteroffensive.

- Lorenzo Tondo Isobel Koshiw Izium Luke Harding Kyiv

Zelenskiy said he was "very shocked" but not surprised by the scale of the damage to the city. He thanked the paratroopers who took part in Izium's liberation and watched as Ukraine's flag was raised in front of its gutted administration building.

"Our blue and yellow flag is already flying in deoccupied Izium," he said.

"And it will be so in every Ukrainian city and village. We are moving in only one direction: forward towards victory." Zelenskiy held a minute's silence for Ukrainian soldiers who died in recent fighting. He said the scene of "destroyed buildings" and "killed people" was reminiscent of Bucha, a Kyiv suburb where the Russian army killed hundreds of civilians in February and March.

Tank carcasses with Russia's signature "Z" symbol dotted streets covered with craters. There were dozens of bombed apartment buildings in the debris-strewn city centre.

The Russians turned the inside of a church into an improvised hospital and blew up bridges as they left.

Zelenskiy's secret trip underlined the dramatic success of Ukraine's September advance. His armed forces have reclaimed nearly 4,000 sq km (1,500 sq miles) of territory in the Kharkiv region, including 300 settlements, some of them directly on the border with Russia.