Vladimir Putin has visited occupied areas of Ukraine that Russia illegally annexed final 12 months, the Kremlin has stated.
The Russian president attended a navy command assembly in Kherson area and visited nationwide guard in Luhansk.
It isn’t clear when the visits occurred.
Putin visits Ukraine to ‘listen to Russian troops’ – Ukraine war latest updates
In Kherson area he heard reviews from commanders of the airborne forces and the “Dnieper” military group in addition to different senior officers who briefed him on the scenario within the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia areas.
Russian troops retreated from the city of Kherson, the regional capital, last November and have been reinforcing their positions on the alternative financial institution of the Dnipro river in anticipation of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Whereas quite a few Western leaders have made their option to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy since Russian forces invaded 14 months in the past, President Putin has hardly ever visited components of Ukraine below Russia’s management.
Final month, he visited the Crimea area and Mariupol, where Russia has been doing construction after raising much of the city to the ground.
Learn extra:
Could Putin be using the war to annex Belarus?
Biden ‘concerned’ about Pentagon leaks
President Putin’s go to comes at a time when Russia’s New 12 months 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 within the metropolis, the commander of Ukraine’s floor forces stated on Tuesday.
In the meantime, anticipation has been rising forward of an anticipated counteroffensive from Ukraine within the spring.
Kyiv’s armed forces, bolstered by dozens of Western-made tanks promised over the winter, are anticipated to attempt to replicate vastly profitable offensives in Kharkiv and Kherson final 12 months that noticed swathes of territory liberated.