Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Saturday. Russian state media report this. It would be Putin’s first visit to the occupied territory since the start of the war.
According to state news agency TASS Putin flew to Mariupol by helicopter. Then he would have driven to different districts in the city by car.
Among other things, he stopped in the Nevsky neighborhood, a new residential area built by the Russian army. Putin is said to have spoken to residents. The visit was not announced.
The southern Ukrainian port city was the hotbed of the war in the first months after the invasion and was severely shelled. The Russians took control of the city in May. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised to recapture the city in a video message on Thursday.
Putin paid a surprise visit to Crimea on Saturday. That happened exactly nine years after Russia annexed the peninsula in southern Ukraine. The Russian president was given a tour by the governor and visited, among other things, an art academy in the city of Sevastopol.
Putin is going to talk to Chinese President XI
Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Moscow next week for a state visit. His meeting with President Putin will last three days and, according to Russian and Chinese state news agencies, is intended to strengthen strategic cooperation.
The two colleagues will talk about Ukraine, among other things. China has previously indicated that it wants to mediate in the conflict. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Xi Jinping plans to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after his talks with Putin.
