Putin’s power display: Kremlin footage claims to show Russian leader’s first visit to occupied Kherson and Luhansk in propaganda bid to show his control of the Ukrainian regions
- Putin was seen pounding pavement in eastern Ukraine amid ‘spontaneous’ trip
- He met with top commanders ahead of a potential Ukrainian counteroffensive
- Trip comes less than a month after he visited the ruined port city of Mariupol
Russian President Vladimir Putin has stepped foot on Ukrainian soil, visiting the embattled Kherson and Luhansk regions to meet with military commanders.
‘The supreme commander of Russian Federation armed forces has visited the headquarters of the Dnieper military grouping’ in the Kherson region in the south, as well as Russian national guard headquarters in the Luhansk region in the east, the Kremlin said in a statement.
It marked the first time Putin, 70, has visited the two regions partly controlled by Russian troops since Moscow annexed them along with two other Ukrainian regions last September.
The despot heard field reports from Commander of the Airborne Forces Colonel General Mikhail Teplinsky, Commander of the Dnieper Forces Group Colonel General Oleg Makarevich, and his Chief of Ground Forces Colonel-General Alexander Lapin, among other military commanders.
British military intelligence said on Sunday that Teplinsky had been given a major role in the war and described him as ‘likely one of the few senior Russian generals widely respected by the rank-and-file’.
‘It’s important for me to hear your opinion on the situation, to listen to you and to exchange information,’ Putin told Teplinsky and his fellow commanders in a video released by the Kremlin.
The Russian leader also wished his troops a happy Easter, which Orthodox Christians marked on Sunday, April 16, the Kremlin said – though the footage of Putin in Ukraine was appeared to have been recorded several days in advance.
Putin was seen pounding the pavement with his commanders in eastern Ukraine
The despot clambered awkwardly out of an SUV and appeared to have difficulty walking
Putin wished his commanders a happy Orthodox Easter and presented them with a gift
Putin is seen shaking hands with commanders upon disembarking from a helicopter
The despot walked stiffly as he was filmed clambering out of an SUV and a helicopter on his supposedly spontaneous visit to inspect his top frontline commanders.
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He first visited the Dnieper headquarters in Kherson, before travelling to drop in on the base of the Vostok National Guard in Luhansk. In one clip broadcast on Russian state television, a road sign for Henichesk port in the occupied Kherson region is visible in the background.
He presented senior military figures with an Easter gift of a religious icon originally belonging to a tsarist-era defence minister and appeared to wish his commanders well for Orthodox Easter, which took place on Sunday April 16.
But the president was seen wearing different clothes in the bundle of clips and in one conversation he said: ‘Easter will be coming,’ suggesting the trip to Ukraine was made well before this weekend and casting aspersions on the legitimacy of his trip.
Journalist Dmitry Kolezev remarked: ‘Surprisingly, during the trip, Putin was first in a shirt and tie, and then in a black turtleneck.
‘Either he likes to change clothes so much, or they filmed on different days.’
Putin will hope his presence close to the frontlines of Kherson will act as a motivator for his troops there, who are labouring to build defences along the banks of the Dnieper river in anticipation of a Ukrainian counterattack.
Putin was seen wearing different clothes despite the trip coming supposedly on one day
‘It’s important for me to hear your opinion on the situation, to listen to you and to exchange information,’ Putin told commanders in a video released by the Kremlin
Putin is seen addressing commanders
Putin’s convoy drives past Henichesk – a port city in Kherson
Ukraine’s armed forces successfully managed to push the occupiers out of Kherson city late last year, but did not cross the river to reclaim more territory in the region.
The president’s trip to Kherson and Luhansk comes less than a month after he paid a visit to the southern port city of Mariupol, which last year was bombarded to utter ruin.
Putin brazenly praised ongoing ‘reconstruction’ works and met with Russians who had been relocated to the port city in newly built apartments.
The timing of Putin’s ‘spontaneous’ visit to the once flourishing metropolis took place just days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader accusing him of war crimes.
Putin arrived in Mariupol by helicopter and then drove himself around the city’s ‘memorial sites,’ concert hall and coastline, Russian reports said, adding that he also met with local residents in the city’s Nevskyi district.
But the exiled city council of Mariupol condemned the visit, saying Putin was an ‘international criminal’, while Ukraine’s defence ministry said the Russian president’s choice to visit the city at night ‘befits a thief’.
‘First, it is safer,’ the ministry wrote on Twitter.
‘Also, darkness allows him to highlight what he wants to show, and keeps the city his army completely destroyed and its few surviving inhabitants away from prying eyes.’
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, launched on February 24, 2022, has triggered the deadliest European conflict since World War Two.
Moscow claims to have annexed four Ukrainian regions but its forces are locked in a grinding artillery battle in the eastern Donbas with heavy losses on both sides, while they have been forced to pull back in southern Kherson, which Putin visited.
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