PRESIDENT Volodymyr Zelensky defiantly visited wounded troops in hospital and handed out medals today.
The Ukraine war leader visited a military hospital in the Kyiv region yesterday to meet some of his hero soldiers who have been injured while putting their lives on the line to fight Putin’s army.
He awarded 106 servicemen the title of ‘heroes of Ukraine’ – 17 of them posthumously.
The president’s official website said Zelensky’s visit was to “award militaries with orders and medals for courage and dedication, and to honor the hospital staff for exemplary work in difficult conditions”
The president told the soldiers: “Guys, get well soon. I believe that the best gift for your statement will be our common victory.”
In an address on Sunday President Zelensky said Russians in the south have been using blackmail and bribery in a hope to encourage local officials to form a break-away region.
He said: “Ukraine will stand this test. We need time and strength to break the war machine that has come to our land.”
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson spoke with the president yesterday by phone and told him that Putin’s “barbaric actions” were a test “not just Ukraine but all of humanity”.
Both leaders condemned the murder of journalist Brent Reynaud during their conversation.
The American journalist was reportedly shot dead while fleeing from Russian soldiers who opened fire at him after he stumbled upon their checkpoint in Ukraine.
Mr Renaud – who previously contributed to the New York Times – was gunned down by Vladimir Putin’s troops while travelling in a car in Irpin, just outside Kyiv, witnesses said.
Another reporter, said to be Mr Renaud’s colleague, is being treated at a hospital in the Ukrainian capital after being injured in the attack.
Juan Arredondo, who was wounded in the lower back, told Italian journalist Annalisa Camilli he and Mr Renaud were shot after they were stopped at a checkpoint just after a bridge in Irpin.
“We crossed the first bridge in Irpin. We were going to film other refugees leaving and we got into a car, someone offered to take us to the other bridge,” he said.
“We crossed the checkpoint and they started shooting at us. So the driver turned around and they kept shooting.”
“Of course, the profession of a journalist is a risk, but US citizen Brent Renaud paid his life for trying to highlight the aggressor’s ingenuity, cruelty and ruthlessness.”
Initial reports suggest Mr Renaud worked for the New York Times, but Cliff Levy, the newspaper’s deputy managing editor, said he was not on assignment for the publication.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of Brent Renaud’s death. Brent was a talented photographer and filmmaker who had contributed to the New York Times over the years,” Mr Levy said in a statement shared on Twitter.
“Though he had contributed to The Times in the past (mostly recently in 2015), he was not on assignment for any desk at The Times in Ukraine.
“Early reports that he worked for The Times circulated because he was wearing a Times press badge that been issued for an assignment many years ago.”
