President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday visited the forward positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kupiansk direction and presented awards to Ukrainian defenders, the presidential press service said.

"During a visit to Kharkiv region, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the battalion command post of the 14th separate mechanized brigade named after Prince Roman the Great, which is performing combat missions to defend Kupyansk," according to a press release published on the president's website.

It is noted that Zelenskyy listened to the report of the brigade commander Lieutenant Colonel Oleksiy Trubnikov on the operational situation in the relevant section of the frontline and interaction with the adjacent units of the Defense Forces. The brigade commander also told the President about the experience of using various types of drones in the area of responsibility and about the peculiarities of combating enemy UAVs with electronic warfare systems.

In addition, the president and brigade commander discussed separately the provision of units with equipment, ammunition and other current needs of the military.

Zelenskyy spoke with the defenders and presented them with awards.

"I am glad to be here today to see you, to congratulate you, to express gratitude on behalf of all Ukrainians, all of Ukraine, for doing such a great job every day, for defending the state, our families, independence, and our sovereignty. I am confident in you. I wish you good health. Take care of yourself and your colleagues. This is very important. I wish you all victory," the president said.

In particular, Zelenskyy awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine and presented the Order of the Golden Star to the commander of the 95th separate air assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Colonel Oleh Apostol. The head of state also presented the President's Cross of Military Merit to Colonel Oleksandr Lutsenko. In addition, the defenders also received from the president the Orders of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, III class, and the Orders "For Courage" of II-III class.

"For the safety of the warriors, Volodymyr Zelenskyy handed over some of the awards to the commanders so that they could present them at the places of their service," the office said.