Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends flag hoisting ceremony in Izium after the Ukrainian forces took control of the city from the Russian forces in Kharkiv, Ukraine on September 14, 2022.
Photo by Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Zelenskyy traveled to the recently liberated front-line city of Izium for a ceremony Wednesday.
The Ukrainian president has made numerous trips to the war’s front lines, unlike Putin.
Izium was taken back by Ukrainian forces amid their rapid counteroffensive in the northeast region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the newly liberated city of Izium on Wednesday for a flag-raising ceremony as his forces continue their rapid counteroffensive in the country’s northeast.
Zelenskyy’s visit on Wednesday is one of many that he has taken to cities and towns along the front lines — a stark contrast to his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin, who does not appear to have traveled anywhere close to the bloody war that he started back in February with the launch of his so-called “special military operation.”
“Earlier, when we looked up, we always looked for the blue sky. Today, when we look up, we are looking for only one thing — the flag of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post on his Telegram channel, which included photos of his visit.
He continued: “Our blue-yellow flag is already flying in the de-occupied Izium. And it will be so in every Ukrainian city and village. We are moving in only one direction — forward and towards victory.”
The following photos are from Zelenskyy’s visit to Izium.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends flag hoisting ceremony in Izium after the Ukrainian forces took control of the city from the Russian forces in Kharkiv, Ukraine on September 14, 2022.
Photo by Metin AktaÅ/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends flag hoisting ceremony in Izium after the Ukrainian forces took control of the city from the Russian forces in Kharkiv, Ukraine on September 14, 2022.
Photo by Metin AktaÅ/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends flag hoisting ceremony in Izium after the Ukrainian forces took control of the city from the Russian forces in Kharkiv, Ukraine on September 14, 2022.
Photo by Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends flag hoisting ceremony in Izium after the Ukrainian forces took control of the city from the Russian forces in Kharkiv, Ukraine on September 14, 2022.
Photo by Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends flag hoisting ceremony in Izium after the Ukrainian forces took control of the city from the Russian forces in Kharkiv, Ukraine on September 14, 2022.
Photo by Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends flag hoisting ceremony in Izium after the Ukrainian forces took control of the city from the Russian forces in Kharkiv, Ukraine on September 14, 2022.
Photo by Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Izium — which is a town in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region with a pre-war population of over 46,000 people — was liberated in recent days amid Ukraine’s sweeping counteroffensive, which has sent Russian troops scrambling and seen Ukraine reclaim thousands of square miles of territory previously held by Russian troops, who left significant devastation in their wake.
“The view is very shocking, but it’s not a shock for me because we began to see the same pictures from Bucha — from the first de-occupied territories,” Zelenskyy told reporters in Izium, according to a Reuters video. “So the same — destroyed buildings, killed people, and so, what can I say?”
His remarks on Bucha is a reference to the Kyiv suburb liberated during the spring by Ukrainian forces, who quickly discovered evidence of mass killings, widespread torture, and other human rights violations committed against civilians by the occupying Russian forces.
Another visit to the war’s front lines by Zelenskyy once again separates him and Putin, who has made no known appearances anywhere near the war which he initiated and which has seen an estimated tens of thousands of Russian troops killed or wounded in pursuit of objectives that remain out of reach.
Even on the domestic front, Putin has repeatedly kept war-related business, among other pressing issues, at arm’s length — often farther — by meeting with Russian officials and world leaders at very long tables and by cracking down on dissent.