Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a captured Ukrainian city on Sunday for the first time since invading the country last year.
Putin made an unannounced trip to the coastal city of Mariupol, a city that Russian forces had almost reduced to rubble with artillery fire early in the invasion. Footage shows Putin driving through the city at night while Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin explains the efforts Russian forces are making to rebuild the city.
Putin’s regime has touted reconstruction efforts in Mariupol as evidence of its claim to rid Ukrainians of fascist leaders.
Mariupol saw some of the most dramatic and intense fighting in the first few months of the Russian invasion, when Ukrainian troops held out at a steel factory after Russian troops nearly took the city. The Ukrainian soldiers finally surrendered in May.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin waves to local residents after touring their new apartment during his visit to Mariupol in Ukraine’s Russian-controlled Donetsk region. (Associated Press)
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin drive a car during their visit to Mariupol. Putin traveled to Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of Ukraine’s annexation of the Black Sea Peninsula.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to local residents during his visit to Mariupol.
Putin’s visit comes just days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him for kidnapping Ukrainian children from their families last week.
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However, the ICC warrant has little real-world impact given the court’s limited jurisdiction. The move was immediately rebuffed by Moscow.
Putin is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow later this week, with China trying to negotiate peace terms between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed skepticism about China’s entry into the peacemaking scene but said he was open to dialogue.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are due to meet in Moscow later this week. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Xi is expected to call Zelenskyy sometime after his visit to Moscow. Such a call would be the couple’s first face-to-face interaction since before Putin’s invasion.
Source : www.foxnews.com