Putin visits Mariupol for the first time since joining Russia (VIDEO) – RT in French

The Russian president visited the city of Mariupol, conquered by Moscow last May, then attached to Russia at the end of September. He met residents of the port town and spoke with the Russian Deputy Prime Minister.

As reported by the Kremlin press service in a statement posted on the morning of March 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the city of Mariupol the day before, the scene of heavy fighting at the launch of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, and conquered by Moscow last May (before being attached to Russia at the end of September after a referendum supported by Moscow but denounced by Ukraine and its Western allies).

This is the first time that Vladimir Putin has visited this new region of Russia located on the shores of the Sea of ​​Azov and belonging to the People’s Republic of Donestk.

According to the document, Vladimir Putin reached the port city “by helicopter” and “circled around several areas of the city. […] driving a car” in order to inspect “the coastline near the yacht club, the theater and the memorial sites”.

He also “talked to the residents” of the Nevky district and was received by one of the families at their home.

During his visit, he was accompanied by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khousnulline who “informed the president on developments in construction and reconstruction work in and around the city”, according to the Kremlin.

Visits to Rostov-on-Don and Crimea

Still according to the same source, Vladimir Putin also went to Rostov-on-the-Don where he “held a meeting at the command post of the special military operation”. “The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces heard the reports of the Chief of the General Staff, that of the First Deputy Minister of Defense, Valery Gerasimov, and those of a number of military commanders”, it is specified. .

On March 18, Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to Crimea for the ninth anniversary of Crimea’s annexation to the Russian Federation. Indeed, in 2014, after a self-determination referendum – denounced as “illegal” by kyiv and the West, Crimea had joined Russia.

As a reminder, Russia launched a military offensive on February 24, 2022, in particular emphasizing the need to “demilitarize” Ukraine and bring relief to the populations of Donbass, whose local authorities had been in conflict with Kiev since 2014. Ukrainian authorities and their Western allies have denounced a war of invasion that did not respond to any provocation on the part of Kiev.