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President Vladimir Putin has made a shock go to to the war-ravaged port of Mariupol, state media experiences – his first journey to the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine’s Donbas area for the reason that battle started.
The go to got here after Mr Putin traveled to Crimea on Saturday in an unannounced go to to mark the ninth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine, and simply two days after the Worldwide Legal Court docket (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for the Russian chief.
Mr Putin is but to remark publicly on the ICC warrant however his journeys into Ukrainian territory claimed by Russia have been seen by some observers as an act of defiance.
Mariupol fell in Could after one of many struggle’s longest and bloodiest battles, marking Russia’s first main victory after it did not seize Kyiv and centered as an alternative on south-eastern Ukraine
The Group for Safety and Co-operation and Europe (OSCE) stated Russia’s early bombing of a maternity hospital there was a struggle crime.
Mr Putin flew by helicopter to Mariupol for “a working journey”, Russian information companies reported, citing the Kremlin.
He traveled round a number of districts of town, making stops and speaking to residents.
It’s the closest to the entrance traces Mr. Putin has been for the reason that year-long struggle started.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant on Friday for Mr Putin, accusing him of the struggle crime of illegally deporting lots of of kids from Ukraine, a extremely symbolic transfer that additional isolates the Russian chief.
Whereas Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has made plenty of journeys to the battlefield to spice up the morale of his troops and discuss technique, Mr Putin has principally remained contained in the Kremlin whereas working what Russia calls its “particular navy operation” in Ukraine.
Kyiv and its allies say the invasion, now in its 13th month, is an imperialistic land seize that has killed 1000’s and displaced hundreds of thousands of individuals in Ukraine.
Within the Nevsky district of Mariupol, Mr Putin visited a household of their dwelling, Russian media reported.
The brand new residential neighborhood has been constructed by the Russian navy, with the primary individuals shifting there in September.
Residents have been “actively” returning, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, who accompanied Mr Putin, was quoted as saying by Russian companies.
Mariupol had a inhabitants of half one million individuals earlier than the struggle and was dwelling to the Azovstal metal plant, certainly one of Europe’s largest.
“The downtown has been badly broken,” Mr Khusnullin stated.
“We need to end (reconstruction) of the middle by the top of the yr, at the least the facade half. The middle may be very stunning.”
Russian media broadcast movies displaying the Russian chief driving a automotive at night time via a built-up space in addition to strolling into what the media stated was the philharmonic, restored in simply three months.
There was additionally no fast response to the go to from Kyiv.
Mariupol is within the Donetsk area, one of many 4 areas Mr Putin moved in September to annex.
Kyiv and its Western allies condemned the transfer as unlawful.
Donetsk, along with the Luhansk area, comprise many of the Donbas industrialized a part of Ukraine that has seen the largest battle in Europe for generations.
Russian media reported on Sunday that Mr. Putin additionally met with the highest commanders of his navy operation in Ukraine, together with Chief of the Normal Employees Valery Gerasimov.
– Reuters
