Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the war-damaged southern city of Mykolaiv for the first time since the Russian invasion in a rare trip outside Kyiv.

It was the Ukrainian leader's first visit to the southern city since Russia invaded Ukraine almost four months ago. The president's office published video Saturday of Zelenskyy surveying a badly damaged high-rise residential building and holding meetings with local officials. He also visited soldiers on the southern front line. The president’s office did not say when the visit took place.

Russian troops were driven from Mykolaiv in early March after reaching the outskirts of the regional capital.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian official says “fierce battles" are raging in villages near the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk, which Russian troops have been trying to take control of for weeks.

"Now, the most-fierce battles are near Sievierodonetsk. They [Russia]) do not control the city entirely," Sergiy Gaiday, the governor of the eastern Luhansk region, said on social media site Telegram. "In nearby villages there are very difficult fights -- in Toshkivska, Zolote. They are trying to break through but failing... Our defenders are fighting Russians in all directions. Recently, they shot down a plane and took captives."

The governor also said that Russian troops are heavily shelling Lysychansk, a city across a river from Sievierodonetsk, that is still controlled by the Ukrainians.

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