Russian President Putin visits captured territories in Donbas region

Europe, News March 21, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the city of Mariupol in Ukraine’s captured Donbas region on March 19, 2023. This was the first time that the Russian President visited captured territories in Ukraine since his invasion of Ukraine started more than a year ago.

Russian President Putin’s weekend visits to occupied territories came ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on March 20, 2023.

Putin arrived in Mariupol by helicopter and drove around the city making short stops at several locations. He was also accompanied by Russia’s deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin who was guiding him around with details about the events that unfolded in the region.

Khusnullin also gave a detailed report about the reconstruction plans for the city. According to the Kremlin, “the report concerned the construction of new residential districts, social and educational facilities, utility infrastructure and medical centers.”

Russia’s state-owned television media broadcasted Putin’s visit to the city of Mariupol, where he can be seen roaming around the streets and meeting with the residents. In the footage, Khusnullin can be seen telling the Russian president that the residents are now actively returning to the city after the fight is over.

According to Kremlin, “In the Nevsky District, Vladimir Putin spoke with Mariupol residents, who raised such issues as wage violations and delays in granting Russian citizenship and issuing Russian passports. A family invited the President to visit their flat.

*^{Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Mariupol, Russian-controlled Ukraine, in this still image taken from a handout video released on March 19, 2023. (Image Credit: Kremlin/via Reuters)}*

The Russian president also visited the “command and control center of the special military operation in Rostov-on-Don”, Kremlin said in a statement. “The Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces held a meeting, [and] received reports from Chief of the General Staff and First Deputy Minister of Defense Valery Gerasimov and several military commanders. The President also had a one-on-one meeting with Valery Gerasimov,” it added.

Mariupol is one of the largest cities in the region had had a population of half a million people before the war started. It was home to the Azovstal steel plant, one of Europe’s largest steel-producing units. The plant remained the city’s last active battlefield for weeks after Ukrainian fighters held out in the underground tunnels and bunkers before being forced to surrender by Russian forces.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been demanding the Russians withdraw from the captured territories in the eastern Donbas region. Kyiv and its allies claim that Russia’s invasion has killed thousands in the eastern part of Ukraine and displaced millions.

The Ukrainian ministry of defense responded to Putin’s nighttime surprise visits “as befits a thief”. The ministry tweeted that “as befits a thief, Putin visited Ukrainian Mariupol, under the cover of night. First, it is safer. Also, darkness allows him to highlight what he wants to show and keeps the city his army completely destroyed and its few surviving inhabitants away from prying eyes.”

Just one day before visiting Mariupol, the Russian President also visited Crimea on an unannounced trip to mark the anniversary of the peninsula’s annexation from Ukraine in 2014. At Crimean, Putin was greeted by the Russian-installed governor of the region Mikhail Razvozhayev.

^{Russian President Vladimir Putin with Governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev (on the left) and Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov, chairman of the Patriarchal Council for Culture at the Tauric Chersonesos historical archaeological park in Sevastopol. (Image Credit: Anna Sadovnikova/Kremlin)}

According to Kremlin, Putin was “accompanied by Governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev and Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov, chairman of the Patriarchal Council for Culture”.

According to Russian officials, Putin was taken to visit several new projects constructed by the Russian-backed administration of the region, including an art school and a children’s hospital.