Putin’s troops have destroyed Mariupol and children have been abducted from here to Russia. Now the Russian ruler has been filmed for a propaganda appearance on state television in the devastated Ukrainian port city during a ‘working visit’ – as the Kremlin calls it.
It was the first time that Vladimir visited the occupied territories of the neighboring country since the beginning of the Russian offensive war. Russian state television showed the 70-year-old behind the wheel of a car driving through the city at night. There was also damage to buildings.
conversations with residents
After arriving in a helicopter, he informed himself about the situation during a tour and also spoke to residents of the city, the Kremlin said on Sunday evening. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Chusnullin briefed Putin on the status of reconstruction. “People are starting to come back to the city,” Chusnullin said from the passenger seat. Street lighting and bus services are back in Mariupol.
According to the report, state television also showed Putin’s visit to the city’s philharmonic hall, where the president was seated in a hall. According to Chusnullin, a university building and student residence are also intact.
Staged thanks
Apparently staged recordings of civilians thanking Putin for the unannounced visit were also shown. They “prayed for Putin,” residents say in the footage released by the Kremlin. Russia gave them “a little piece of heaven” with the new apartments being built in place of the destroyed ones.
According to the Kremlin, Putin also held a meeting at a command center for the “military special operation” against Ukraine, as the war is officially called in Russia, in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don near Ukraine. There the President was briefed by Commander Valeri Gerasimov, also Chief of the Russian General Staff, and other officers on the progress of combat operations in the neighboring country.
Saturday in Crimea
On Saturday afternoon, Putin visited Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in 2014. On the ninth anniversary of its founding, state television broadcast images of the Kremlin chief driving a car and opening a children’s art school in the port city of Sevastopol.
Russia launched an offensive war against Ukraine on February 24 last year. Mariupol was besieged by Russian troops and did not come under full Russian military control until May 20. During the fighting, the city was largely destroyed. Ukraine announced plans to liberate Mariupol.
Goals for Russia barely achievable
According to British intelligence, Russia is likely aware that it will fail some of its key targets in the foreseeable future. This is evident, for example, from the fact that the authorities in the Russian-controlled part of the Zaporizhia region declared Melitopol the capital of the region in early March, the British Ministry of Defense reported in a tweet on Sunday. According to Russia, this is a temporary measure until the city of Zaporizhia is fully under control.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
