- Vladimir Putin has visited occupied areas of Ukraine that Russia illegally annexed last year, the Kremlin has said. Though it is not clear when the visits took place.
- In the Kherson region he heard reports from commanders of the airborne forces and the “Dnieper” army group as well as other senior officers.
- President Putin has rarely visited parts of Ukraine under Russia’s control.
- Kremlin troops are stepping up their use of heavy artillery and air strikes in the city, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces said.
Vladimir Putin has visited occupied areas of Ukraine that Russia illegally annexed last year, the Kremlin has said. Though it is not clear when the visits took place.
In the Kherson region he heard reports from commanders of the airborne forces and the “Dnieper” army group as well as other senior officers who briefed him on the situation in the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Russian troops retreated from the city of Kherson, the regional capital, last November and have been reinforcing their positions on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River in anticipation of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
While numerous Western leaders have made their way to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy since Russian forces invaded 14 months ago, President Putin has rarely visited parts of Ukraine under Russia’s control.
Last month, he visited the Crimea region and Mariupol, where Russia has been doing construction after raising much of the city to the ground. President Putin’s visit comes at a time when Russia’s New Year offensive has been grinding on with little success, as Ukrainian forces mount a fierce defence of Bakhmut.
Kremlin troops are stepping up their use of heavy artillery and air strikes in the city, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, anticipation has been growing ahead of an expected counteroffensive from Ukraine in the spring.
Kyiv’s armed forces, bolstered by dozens of Western-made tanks promised over the winter, are expected to try to replicate hugely successful offensives in Kharkiv and Kherson last year that saw swathes of territory liberated.
In the video released by the Kremlin of the trip to Ukraine, Mr Putin is seen stepping out of a helicopter in a field before he is greeted by a man, thought to be military commander Col Gen Oleg Makarevich.
He is then filmed speaking in a control room, sitting between Col Gen Makarevich and the head of Russia’s airborne forces, Col Gen Mikhail Teplinsky. Col Gen Teplinsky returned to the front line after allegedly being removed in January, American military experts and British intelligence have reported. “Teplinsky is likely one of the few senior Russian generals widely respected by the rank-and-file,” the UK Ministry of Defence wrote on social media on Sunday. “His recent turbulent career suggests intense tensions between factions within the Russian General Staff about Russia’s military approach in Ukraine.”
