Vladimir Putin’s Mariupol Visit Caught on Video [WATCH]

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a secret visit to Mariupol, the Ukrainian city in the Donetsk region that Moscow has occupied with its forces since last year.

The Russian strongman flew to the region in a helicopter and was seen driving around several city districts. Russian state television broadcast extended video footage of Putin while he was being shown around the area on Saturday night.

Putin Makes Surprise Mariupol Visit

He met rehoused residents and was briefed on reconstruction efforts by Deputy Prime Minister Maray Khusnullin. Several reports of Putin's visit to Mariupol came a day after he went to Crimea to commemorate the ninth anniversary of Russia's annexation of the region.

Furthermore, he was shown visiting the Black Sea port city of Sevastopol on the same day while accompanied by the local Moscow-appointed governor for the region, Mihkail Razvozhayev.

In 2014, Moscow was able to annex Crimea from Ukraine after a referendum that Kyiv and the international community did not recognize as legitimate. As per Al Jazeera, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also demanded that Russia remove its troops from Crimea and other occupied areas.

During Putin's trip to Mariupol, he visited a new residential neighborhood constructed by his country's military. The first people living in the area moved in last September. The Russian president could be seen interacting with the people and asking them if they like living in the area.

One woman who was seen clasping her hands together and thanking Putin replied by saying, "very much." She noted that the area was a "little piece of heaven" and also thanked the Russian president for "the victory."

In a statement, Khusnullin told the Russian president that residents in the area have been "actively" returning. The region had a population of roughly half a million before the war between Russia and Ukraine started. It is also home to the Azovstal steel plant, one of Europe's largest and where Ukrainian fights held out for weeks against Russian aggression.

Arrest Warrants for Putin

Reports of Putin's visit to Mariupol also come after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for the Russian president on Friday and for Russian official Maria Lvova-Belova. According to CNN, they were for an alleged scheme to deport Ukrainian children to Russia, and the Russian strongman has yet to comment on the matter.

The trip is considered provocative because Mariupol was considered a symbol of resistance to one of Ukraine's most intense fighting since the beginning of the invasion. Russian reports said that Putin examined the region's coastline when he visited a yacht club and theater building.

In a statement, Mariupol's mayor, Vadym Boychenko, who is currently in exile, said that the region was considered "personal" for Putin due to the intense fighting in the area. He noted that no other Ukrainian city was subjected to such intense violence, and no other was subjected to carpet bombing, said BBC.

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