Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Kherson and addressed troops there on Monday, days after Russian forces were forced to retreat from the southern city after months of occupation.
"We are moving forward," he told troops standing in formation in front of the administration building in the city's main square. "We are ready for peace, peace for all our country."
Zelensky thanked NATO and other allies for their support in the war against Russia and said the delivery of high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) from the United States had made a big difference for Kyiv.
Parents with children, some pushing baby strollers, also gathered in the main square. Some waved Ukrainian flags and others had the flag draped over their shoulders.
"I'm really happy, you can tell by the reaction of the people, their reaction is not staged," he said in his comments witnessed by a Reuters correspondent in Kherson.
Asked where Ukrainian forces might advance next, he said: "Not Moscow...We're not interested in the territories of another country."
Minutes before he arrived, nearby shelling could be heard by people in the centre of Kherson. After Zelensky finished speaking, several more of blasts artillery gunfire echoed over the city.
Ukrainian troops arrived in the centre of Kherson on Friday after Russia abandoned the only regional capital it had captured since Moscow launched its invasion.
Zelenskyy shared photos of his visit to the city on Telegram, without any further comments.
"Today, together with President Volodymyr Zelensky, the military and the office team are in our Kherson," Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the Ukrainian Presidency, posted on Telegram.
Separately, several Ukrainian authorities confirmed media reports of Zelenskyy arriving in the city through social media posts.
"Zelenskyy arrived in Kherson! You gotta give it to him. He's ballsy," former Ukrainian ambassador to Austria, Olexander Scherba, wrote on Twitter.
Roman Hryshchuk, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, also shared a picture of Zelensky waving his hand in Kherson, commenting: "Zelensky is in Kherson!"
The Ukrainian military entered Kherson on Friday after Russia's withdrawal from the region.
Zelensky and leaders of Western countries hailed it as a major Ukrainian victory.
Zelensky said late on Sunday that Ukrainians are increasingly confident about achieving victory over Russia in the ongoing war.
"All of us already feel the approach of our victory. Because we preserve our unity and know that we are rightfully on our land," Zelenskyy said in a video message posted on Telegram.
The Kremlin on Monday insisted that Kherson was still part of Russia after Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky visited the southern city from which Moscow's troops retreated last week.
"We leave this without comment," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of Zelensky's visit to Kherson, adding however: "You know, this territory is part of the Russian Federation."
