ENDLESS BLOODSHED
Putin shells Kherson market killing one just HOURS after shock trip to frontline…while Zelensky heads to Donbas front
RUSSIAN forces shelled the central market in Kherson leaving one dead after Vladimir Putin's visit to the frontline.
At least nine people were also injured in the horror attack, with debris from the destroyed site left strewn across the ground.
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Oleksandr Prokudin, the area's governor, wrote on Telegram: "The terrorist state launched an attack on peaceful Kherson residents.
"One person died. Nine people from Kherson are injured.
"Our heroic doctors are fighting for their lives and health."
It came as Moscow earlier revealed Putin, 70, made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian city.
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He was pictured with his notorious nuclear briefcase.
The briefcase appears to be the same black ridged case often associated with the Cheget.
Similar to the US's nuclear football, Russia's nuclear briefcase, the Cheget, is kept under 24-hour supervision by armed guards and has a personalised key code.
It was developed in the early 1980s and was first seen on TV in 2019.
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This appearance of the briefcase, coupled with the nuclear air drills, is likely to spark fears that Putin is growing ever more desperate to secure some kind of symbolic victory in Ukraine.
The Russian leader reportedly made an appearance at the "Dnipro headquarters" in Kherson before going to the HQ of the Vostok National Guard in Luhansk.
Putin's spokesman said the visit took place on Monday, just hours before shelling rained down on the city's market.
But it is believed the visit may well have taken place before Orthodox Easter, which was celebrated on Sunday, as in a clip shared by the Kremlin Putin can be heard saying the occasion was "coming up".
Ukrainian troops recaptured Kherson last November after almost eight months of occupation by Russian forces who seized it soon after the start of their full-scale invasion.
The area is now under frequent fire from Russian forces that are entrenched on the opposite side of the Dnipro River, though Moscow denies targeting civilians.
The Kherson region has seen a major buildup of Russian forces ahead of a rumoured Ukrainian counter-offensive in the east of the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, has headed to the eastern city of Avdiivka and was briefed by commanders on the battlefield situation.
Avdiivka has been one of the main targets of a Russian winter offensive which was intended to reinvigorate Moscow's full-scale invasion but has made only small territorial advances in the east.
A video released by the president's office showed Zelensky addressing troops in combat gear and handing them awards in what appeared to be a large industrial warehouse with sandbags packed against at least one of the high walls.
He said: "I have the honour to be here today, to thank you for your service, for defending our land, Ukraine, our families.
"I congratulate you on the holidays, on Easter, and I wish you only victory - what I wish to every Ukrainian, which is very important for all of us.
"I wish good health to all of you and your families, and I am sincerely grateful from every Ukrainian for the great journey you take every day."
Zelensky was also shown visiting a hospital where he inspected facilities, met wounded soldiers and handed out awards.
The video footage released by the president's office also showed heavily damaged high-rise residential buildings in Avdiivka, where Ukrainian officials say about 1,800 civilians still remain.
Zelensky was accompanied in Avdiivka by Andriy Yermak, the head of the president's office, who said Ukrainian troops were successfully repelling Russian attempts to encircle the city.
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He said fierce battles were underway in several other towns or cities in the region, and that "successful defence" was key in these places.
"Our army has already broken the enemy's plans to break through the (Ukrainian) defences and advance in the east," Yermak said on the Telegram messaging app.
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