The first trip to Ukrainian territory, Putin visits the port city of Mariupol

2023-03-19 09:58:49Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

He made what state media described as a "working trip" to the port city, which he annexed in September last year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Putin, who arrived by helicopter, traveled through several areas of the city, making stops and talking to residents, according to Russian news agency TASS, citing the Kremlin. It is believed to be his first trip to Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory since its invasion last year.

The visit follows the widely condemned annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions in September. The visit also comes after Putin visited Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of Ukraine's annexation of the Black Sea peninsula in 2014.

Most of the world considers Russia's annexations illegal, while Ukraine has said it will fight to get the regions back.

Mariupol, a strategically important port city located in the Donetsk region and near the Sea of ??Azov, was the site of some of the fiercest fighting in the early period of the war.

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