<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky today said he visited troops at the southern frontline village Robotyne, which Kyiv retook from Russian forces last summer but is again under heavy attack.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Kyiv recaptured the small village in the southern Zaporizhzhia region in August last year in what it hailed as a major success in the counter-offensive against Russian forces.</div><div><br></div><div>Robotyne has since been relentlessly attacked by Russian troops and is one of the main hotspots on the southern front.</div><div><br></div><div>“Zaporizhzhia region. Robotyne. The location of the 65th mechanised brigade. I spoke with the defenders, thanked them and presented state awards,” Zelensky said on social media.</div><div><br></div><div>“It is an honour to be here today.”</div><div><br></div><div>Video posted on Facebook showed the president in uniform meeting soldiers in a dark room that looked like an underground cellar.</div><div><br></div><div>“I have the great honour to be here today, to reward you, because you have such a difficult and decisive mission on your shoulders to repel the enemy and win this war,” Zelensky told fighters.</div><div><br></div><div>“I wish you victory, I want to reward you and I wish you to do everything to achieve this victory sooner,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The 65th brigade led the assault on the village last year.</div><div><br></div><div>While the recapture of Robotyne was hailed as a success of Kyiv’s counter-offensive, Ukraine’s bid to claw back territory lost to Moscow has since slowed. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>