Zelenskyy Pays 1st Visit to Ukraine's War-damaged Mykolaiv (VIDEO)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the war-damaged southern city of Mykolaiv on Saturday for the first time since the Russian invasion.

Zelenskyy's office published a video of him looking at the badly damaged high-rise residential building in the city and holding a meeting with local officials.

https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1538115833435668481

Zelenskyy also took part in a meeting with local officials in what looked like an underground basement, giving out awards for bravery.

They "discussed the state of the economy, the restoration of water supplies, and the situation in agriculture," the office said. "Special attention was paid to threats from land and sea. We do not stop working for victory."

Mykolaiv has been holding the defense of southern Ukraine, as it lies on the way to the key strategic Black Sea port of Odessa. The city is around 100 kilometers (62 miles) northwest of Kherson, which fell to Russian forces in the first weeks of the war.

https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1538126881685397504

On a separate note, Ukraine might resume talks with Russia by the end of August after counteroffensives are conducted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in certain areas.

The statement was made by David Arakhamia, the Head of the Ukrainian delegation and the Leader of the Servant of the People Faction, in a commentary to Voice of America, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

“Late August [it is when the negotiation process may resume – Ed.]. We do not want to share our plans with Russians, as they can see them in the open sources, but I think we will conduct a counteroffensive in certain areas,” Arakhamia said.