Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Saturday. Giving information on Sunday morning, Russia’s official news agencies said that this is Putin’s first visit to Mariupol, which was illegally occupied by Moscow in September.
Putin also visited the peninsula of the Black Sea
On Saturday, President Putin also visited the Black Sea peninsula, which is located near Mariupol, to mark the ninth anniversary of the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine to Russia.
Mariupol became a symbol of resistance around the world, where Ukrainian military personnel held the steel plant for nearly three months before it was finally captured by Moscow.
Putin interacted with the local people
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who visited Mariupol after a court issued an arrest warrant on war crimes charges two days ago, talked with locals and visited an art school and children’s centre in Crimea. Putin has not commented on the arrest warrant. This warrant will further isolate Russia internationally.
Why does there talk about Putin’s visit?
This visit of President Putin has come at a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping is going to visit Moscow this week, which is likely to give Putin a significant diplomatic edge during a confrontation with Western countries. According to the reports of Russian news agencies, Putin arrived in Mariupol by helicopter and then travelled by car to the concert hall and the coastal area.
Footage broadcast by Rossiya 24 channel on Sunday showed Putin talking to locals outside the newly built residential complex. After a visit to Mariupol, Putin met with Russian military officers and soldiers stationed at the command post in Rostov-on-Don.
Putin wanted to inspect the operation of the command
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Sunday that the visit was not announced and that Putin simply wanted to observe the command’s campaign. Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin told the official Ria news agency on Sunday, the reconstruction of the city will be completed by the end of the year. He said that people have started returning. When they saw that the reconstruction work was being done, people started returning. Moscow took full control of Mariupol in May last year.
Russian troops bombed a maternity hospital on March 9, less than two weeks after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, drawing attention to the plight of the city’s population.
Dire warning for Ukraine during Putin
It is discussed that Russian President Putin’s visit to Mariupol is also a strong warning for Ukraine to stop resorting to Western countries. With the help of these countries, he cannot fight Russia’s war. Putin tried to show that he annexed Crimea in 2014 and Mariupol in 2022.
Ukraine still does not improve, then they can look at other cities to occupy them. Putin knows that wars are always fought on his own. Ukraine does not have the strength to resist Russian aggression for a long time. In such a situation, Ukraine should immediately kneel and accept every condition of Russia and end the presence of NATO on its land.
