Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky made field visits to areas near Ukraine's battlefronts, while Kiev revealed that Russian forces were intensifying heavy artillery shelling and air strikes on the eastern Pakhmut front.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Putin attended a meeting of the military leadership in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine and visited a National Guard headquarters in eastern Lugansk.

Moscow saw the visit as confirmation of its control over parts of Ukraine, but Russia does not fully control those areas, despite announcing their annexation and drawing widespread condemnation.

Putin's visit to Kherson and Lugansk was announced a day later, coinciding with the presence of Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangou in Moscow.

"The president is visiting the new regions more and more," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that it was crucial for Putin, as commander-in-chief of Russia's armed forces, to "see the information immediately."

The Kremlin announced in March that the Russian president had made a surprise visit to the port city of Mariupol, which Moscow seized following a long siege last spring.

Kherson, Zabarizhia, Lugansk and Donetsk are the four regions that Putin announced in September. These four areas are partially controlled by Russian forces.

After Kherson #Putin apparently traveled to #LPR pic.twitter.com/XzuXFwr9I4

— Arthur Morgan (@ArthurM40330824) April 18, 2023

Zelensky in Avdiyevka

Hours after Putin's visit was announced, Zelenskiy visited the eastern frontline town of Avdiyevka, according to his office's website.

Zelenskiy visited "forward positions" in the town near Russian-held Donetsk and congratulated them on Easter.

The Ukrainian president was pictured sitting with soldiers at a table where traditional sweets were placed on the occasion of the holiday.

The bulk of the fighting is now concentrated around the eastern town of Pakhmut, where the longest and bloodiest battle of the conflict is taking place.

The Ukrainian president appeared sitting with soldiers to a table on which a traditional dessert was placed on the occasion of Easter (Anatolia)

Artillery and aerial bombardment

The commander of Ukraine's ground forces, General Oleksandr Sersky, said on the Bachmut battles that Russian forces were "currently intensifying heavy artillery activity and increasing the number of air strikes, turning the city into rubble."

The capture of Bakhmout could give Russia a starting point for advancing towards two large cities that it aspires to march towards in the Donetsk region, Kramatorsk and Sloveyansk.

The commander of the paramilitary Wagner Group, which is leading Russia's push to capture Pakhmut, said this month that its fighters had captured more than 80 percent of the city, which the Ukrainian military denied.

British military intelligence spoke of ongoing "heavy battles" along the front line in Donbass in eastern Ukraine.

"There is a realistic possibility that Russia has reduced the number of forces and reduced attacks in the vicinity of the city of Donetsk, most likely in order to divert resources towards the Pakhmut sector," it said in a statement.

The statement said Russian regular soldiers and Wagner Group troops were continuing to make "slow progress". He added that Ukraine was seeking "to liberate an offensive force while Russia is likely looking to regenerate operational reserves."