Putin makes a surprise visit to Mariupol : NPR

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with locals during a surprise visit to Mariupol in this photo taken from a video released by Russian Television Pool on Sunday, March 19, 2023.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with locals during a surprise visit to Mariupol in this photo taken from a video released by Russian Television Pool on Sunday, March 19, 2023.

APs

Russian President Vladimir Putin made an unannounced visit to the occupied city of Mariupol on Saturday to tour parts of the Ukrainian city that are currently being rebuilt after heavy attacks by Russian forces last year.

It’s been about 10 months since Russian forces took control of Mariupol, and it’s one of the key battles in the Ukrainian War, which has now been going on for over a year.

Mariupol was besieged by Russian forces last February, but local fighters were able to hold off a larger and more powerful army for months before losing control of the city in May. It has become a symbol of the Ukrainian underdog spirit. conflict.

The city saw intense violence during the Russian siege, including Russian bombings of theaters that residents were using as refuges from fighting. called a crime.

Mariupol is also home to the Azokhstan Ironworks. Here, Ukrainian soldiers and civilians hid from Russian forces for weeks while refusing to surrender against an invading force that became known around the world.

Russian state news agency TASS reported on Sunday that Putin was driven around the city after flying by helicopter to Mariupol. It was Putin’s first visit to the Donbass region, which the Russian president illegally annexed in September.

NPR’s Moscow correspondent Charles Maynes said, “The visit appeared to be a planned and controlled event for Putin to highlight Russia’s efforts to rebuild Mariupol. Weekend Sunday.

“It also seemed like a reaction to President Biden’s visit to Kiev a month ago. given that it was his first visit to the territory.

Biden made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital in February to meet with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and reaffirm Washington’s support for Ukraine.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Kusnurin told Putin that residents who fled Mariupol during last year’s fighting are returning to the city, according to TASS.

A day earlier, Putin traveled to nearby Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of Russia’s illegal annexation of the peninsula in 2014.

Putin’s visit to Mariupol on Friday will issue arrest warrants for Putin and Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lviva Belova on suspicion of illegal deportation of children from occupied Ukraine to Russia. It followed the decision of the International Criminal Court.

Moscow officials have dismissed the accusations, noting that Russia, like the United States, is not a party to the International Criminal Court.