/ Go to the mediabankRussian President Vladimir Putin descends from the plane. File photo
/ Go to the mediabankInternationalIndiaAfricaRussian President Vladimir Putin visited the Vostok National Guard staff in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), the Kremlin said in a statement.”Vladimir Putin visited the Vostok National Guard staff in the Lugansk People’s Republic, where he received reports from Col. Gen. Alexander Lapin and other senior officers on the situation in that area,” according to the statement.
Putin’s visits to the staff of the Dnepr grouping of troops in the Kherson Region and to the Vostok National Guard staff in the Lugansk People’s Republic were not prepared in advance, the Kremlin press service said.This was Vladimir Putin’s first visit to the LPR.Earlier in the day, Vladimir Putin visited the staff of the Dnepr grouping of troops in the Kherson Region.”Vladimir Putin at the staff of the Dnepr grouping of troops in the Kherson Region listened to reports from the commander of the Airborne Troops, Col. Gen. Mikhail Teplinsky, the commander of the Dnepr grouping of troops, Col. Gen. Oleg Makarevich and other military leadership,” the Kremlin press service said.”The head of state wished officers a Happy Easter and presented them with a copy of an icon that had belonged, Putin said, to ‘one of the most successful defense ministers of the Russian Empire’,” according to the President’s press service.In March, Putin paid a surprise visit to Mariupol, inspecting the city infrastructure and talking to local residents. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin accompanied the president during the visit and reported on the progress of construction and restoration work in the city and its vicinity, discussing new residential microdistricts, social, educational and health facilities.
RussiaRussian President Putin Visits Mariupol: Video19 March, 04:29 GMTIn mid-December 2022, Vladimir Putin visited the joint headquarters of the forces involved in the special military operation. Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022 in response to calls by the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics for protection from Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defense Ministry said the operation, which targets Ukrainian military infrastructure, aims to “demilitarize and denazify” Ukraine, and to completely liberate Donbass.
Western nations have imposed numerous sanctions on Russia and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said any cargo that contains weaponry for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia.
