March 19, 2023

It's somewhat fitting that Putin should make as his first visit to an occupied territory from this war the city of Mariupol, wantonly levelled by the Russians in one of their worst war crimes. Putin came at night, of course, and only stayed a few moments. CNN called his visit "defiant."

Putin visit newly constructed apartment buildings by the Russians after the former buildings were razed to the ground by Russian shelling. From the video, not built to the highest standard, but at least they have indoor plumbing. In one of the propaganda videos, a woman called their new home "a little piece of heaven."

Source: CNN

Vladimir Putin has made a surprise visit to Russian-occupied Mariupol, his first visit to territory captured by his forces in the year-long conflict.

The visit was an apparent act of defiance, coming just days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him.

It also prompted outrage from Ukraine – the defense ministry compared Putin to a “thief” visiting “under the cover of night” – with the city having been reduced to ruins in Russia’s offensive.

Putin was flown into Mariupol by helicopter and toured districts around the city in a car, footage released by Russian authorities showed.
...
News of the visit comes after the ICC issued arrest warrants on Friday for Putin and Russian official Maria Lvova-Belova for an alleged scheme to deport Ukrainian children to Russia. Putin is yet to comment on the warrant.

@Wartranslated added the footage from a couple of months ago.

And Putin's visit reminded some that another dictator also once visited Mariupol...

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