Photo: SEVASTOPOL GOVERNOR PRESS SERVIC/TASS/DPA/PICTURE ALLIANCE / Deutsche Welle
The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, made a working visit to the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupolon his first trip to Donbas, the Kremlin reported on Sunday (03.19.2023).
According to the press office of the Russian Presidency, the president arrived by helicopter in that city in the south of the Donetsk region, on the shores of the Azov Sea, which last year was the scene of fierce fighting.
During the visit, Putin toured in a car, which he drove himself, various neighborhoods of the cityaccompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnulin, who informed him of the progress of construction and reconstruction work in and around Mariupol.
Vladimir Putin makes a surprise “working visit” to Mariupol https://t.co/5Ry81Z2ioZ
– EP International (@EPinternacional) March 19, 2023
“In particular, it dealt with the construction of new housing units, social and educational centersinfrastructures and medical institutions,” added the Kremlin press office, which did not specify the duration of the visit.
Shortly after, the Russian Presidency reported that Putin met in Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia, with the command of the military campaign in Ukraine.
“The head of state listened to the reports of the chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed ForcesValeri Guerásimov, and other military chiefs,” the report specified.
This Saturday, Putin made a surprise trip to the Crimean peninsula on the ninth anniversary of its annexation by Russia in 2014.
The president visited the Korsun Art School and children’s center in Chersonese, outside the port of Sevastopol, the main base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
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