Heavily protected President Zelensky visits Izium, just days after liberating the city from Russia (photos/videos)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday visited the east Ukraine city of Izyum, the military said, one of the largest cities recently recaptured from Russia by Kyiv’s army in a lightning counter-offensive.

The military in a statement on social media on September 14 said that Zelensky and military officials “took part” in a ceremony raising the Ukrainian flag over the captured city, which was key for Russia’s ambitions to capture the Donbas region.

Pictures posted by Zelensky’s office showed the Ukrainian leader wearing dark-green and flanked by lots of military guards as he was taking selfies with soldiers and meeting troops at a flag-rising ceremony.

Ukraine has claimed sweeping successes in the northeastern Kharkiv region that borders Russia in recent days and also claims to have clawed back territory along a southern front near the Kherson region on the Black Sea.

Kyiv says since the beginning of September its forces have retaken hundreds of village, towns and cities that were captured by Russian forces that invaded Ukraine on February 24.

Moscow said Wednesday however that its forces were hitting back on areas recaptured in Kharkiv with “massive strikes,” claiming to have inflicted losses on Ukrainian military hardware and servicemen.

Watch video below

JUST IN: Ukrainian President Zelensky visits the newly liberated city of Izium, in Kharkiv.

Beth Sanner says “Psychologically… raising this flag – it’s important for the Ukrainians, and important for the West because it shows what we’re giving them is working.” pic.twitter.com/BfRljJ3aEd

— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) September 14, 2022