Moscow, March 20: Russia on Sunday legitimized its capture of Mariapol, hitherto Ukraine’s territory with President Vladimir Putin paying a surprise visit. This is Putin’s first visit to the annexed territory last winter.
Hours after Putin visited Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of its annexation, Kremlin released a video of Putin coming out of a military helicopter in Mariupol, the port city that Russia captured last spring after a long-drawn battle.
Putin’s visit to Mariupol triggered an angry reaction from Ukraine and other Western countries. “This is cynicism and lack of remorse,” Ukraine’s Presidential aide told the media.
The press release from Kremlin stated that Putin walked on the streets of Mariupol and also drove car. “The Russian President visited a rebuilt musical theater and followed the presentation of a report on the reconstruction work,” the release stated.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Putin’s visit was ‘spontaneous’ and his movements in city and meetings with locals were not planned.
Mariupol was left devastated after Moscow relentlessly bombarded the city on the shores of the sea of Azov and subjected it to brutal siege.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Presidential aide lambasted Putin by saying that “a criminal always returns to the scene of crime. He is a murderer of thousands of people. That Putin visited Mariupol during midnight is a proof that he is a thief”
EOM
