Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, met with military and security leaders in the areas of Ukraine that Moscow claims it seized last year (Kherson and Lugansk). This significant trip marks Putin’s first tour of the two regions, which are partially under Russian military authority. Kherson and Lugansk, along with two other Ukrainian districts, according to Moscow, were annexed last September. During the continuing battle, Putin seldom ever traveled to regions of Ukraine under Russian control. He went to Mariupol and the Crimean peninsula last month.
Putin spoke with leaders of the “Dnieper” army unit’s airborne forces
In a statement, the Kremlin said that the “supreme commander of Russian Federation armed forces has visited the headquarters of the Dniepr military grouping” in the Kherson region in the south, as well as Russian national guard headquarters in the Lugansk region in the east. The Kremlin statement was released on Tuesday (April 18), but it doesn’t specify when the trip took place.
Putin said in a video released by the Kremlin: “It’s important for me to hear your opinion on the situation, to listen to you, and to exchange information.” In addition, the Russian leader wished the soldiers a good Easter, which was observed by Orthodox Christians last Sunday. According to the Russian news agency TASS, Putin spoke with leaders of the “Dnieper” army unit’s airborne forces. TASS also stated that one goal of the visit was to obtain a “report” from the commanders on the state of affairs in both the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia directions.
As seen in the video and translated by news agencies, Putin said: “I do not want to distract you from your direct duties related to command and control. Therefore, we are working here in a business-like manner, briefly, but concretely.” “It is important for me to hear your opinion on how the situation is developing, to listen to you, to exchange information. I would ask you to start your report with the situation in the Kherson direction, then in the Zaporozhzhia direction,” he added.
The visit happened while the Russian intention to install nuclear weapons in Belarus was being denounced
The visit happened while the Russian intention to install nuclear weapons in Belarus was being denounced at a Group of Seven (G7) conference of foreign ministers in Japan. Putin was charged with visiting the locations of Russian “crimes” by Kyiv. President Volodymyr Zelensky’s advisor Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted: “Putin’s degradation is impressive. He added that Putin was visiting the regions of Ukraine that were under occupation “to relish the crimes of his minions for the last time.”