Vladimir Putin poses for a propaganda snap inside an empty theater in Mariupol. RussiaBombings believed to have killed hundreds of Ukrainian civilians. The Russian leader has made his first official visit to occupied Ukrainian lands illegally annexed by the Kremlin last year.
Putin was taken on a stage management tour of the Russian-held city by local officials.
The Kremlin released videos of Putin visiting various “memorial” sites, but did not specify when the visits took place.
On Sunday, state-run Russia 24 channel aired Putin chatting with locals outside what appeared to be a newly constructed apartment complex, giving a tour of one of the apartments.
In May, Moscow took full control of the city, and about 100,000 people were trapped without basic necessities such as food, water, electricity and heat.
The city’s infrastructure was severely damaged by constant bombing, lined with destroyed and empty buildings.
The dire situation in Mariupol was first brought to light by Russian airstrikes on the maternity hospital on March 9 of the previous year, shortly after Russian troops entered. Ukraine.
A week later, a theater that served as the city’s main air raid shelter was bombed, killing about 300 people. But evidence obtained by the AP in the spring suggests that the actual death toll could be as high as 600.
According to an aide to the deposed Ukrainian mayor of Mariupol, Russian authorities began demolition of the damaged theater in December.
When Russian fighters bombed the building in March, Petro Andryushchenko accused occupation authorities of trying to cover up the deaths of civilians.
A video was shown of a bulldozer destroying part of the back of the building, and images of Russian cultural icons were projected around the ruins.
Andryushchenko said the Russians are planning to leave the front of the theater intact and demolish the rest in order to build a new theater on the site of the tragedy.
Earlier on Saturday, Putin visited Crimea, just southwest of Mariupol, to mark the ninth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the Black Sea Peninsula. Ukraine.
Mariupol became a global symbol of defiance after overwhelmed Ukrainian forces held out at steelworks there for about three months until Moscow finally took control in May.
The visit was a show of defiance by the Russian leader two days after a court issued an arrest warrant for war crimes charges.
Putin has not commented on the arrest warrant, which has deepened his international isolation, even though he is unlikely to be brought to justice anytime soon.
The visit also preceded a planned visit to Moscow by the Chinese president. Xi Jinping It is expected to give Putin a major diplomatic boost in his confrontation with the West this week.
