Global Courant 2023-04-18 13:17:00
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Kremlin armed forces command posts in Ukraine on Tuesday, apparently in an effort to rally his troops as the war approaches its 14th month and Kiev prepares a possible counter-offensive with weapons supplied by the West.
A video released by the Kremlin and broadcast by Russian state television showed Putin arriving by helicopter at the command post for Russian troops in the southern region of Kherson and then flying to the headquarters of the Russian National Guard in the eastern region of Luhansk
Dressed in a dark suit, and in an apparent display of authority, Putin appeared to be chairing meetings with his military chief. It was his second trip in two months to the Russian-occupied territories in the neighboring country.
The locations of the military headquarters in the Kherson and Luhansk regions have not been disclosed, so it was not possible to assess how close they are to the front line.
Russian President Vladimir Putin steps out of a military helicopter in Ukraine’s Kherson region, images released Tuesday show. Russian Presidential Office / AP
Russia’s war in Ukraine has become a stalemate amid heavy fighting in the east of the country, particularly around the town of Bakhmut, which was the scene of the war’s longest and bloodiest battle for 8½ months.
At both locations, Putin congratulated the army on Orthodox Easter, which was celebrated on Sunday, and presented them with icons.
Russia annexed the Kherson and Luhansk regions, along with the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, in September, a move rejected as illegal by much of the world.
It was impossible to independently verify the authenticity of the video footage.
Putin visits the headquarters of the Russian National Guard in the Luhansk region.AFP – Getty Images
Last month, Putin visited the Russian-occupied port city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, which was taken by Russian forces in May after two months of heavy fighting.
Putin’s trips to military headquarters come as Ukraine prepares for another counter-offensive to reclaim occupied territories.
Ukrainian officials have said they are buying time by exhausting Russian troops in battle as Kiev prepares a counter-offensive. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has argued that if Russia wins the Bakhmut battle, it could allow Putin to build international support for a deal that would require Ukraine to make unacceptable compromises to end the war.
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, told The Associated Press in an interview in Kiev that Ukraine’s allies are helping the government reach the level of technical equipment needed to carry out the attack, supplying heavy armored vehicles and ammunition.
He expressed confidence that Ukraine will be able to return all its occupied territories.
“We will beat Russia,” he said. “If you have a strong inner spirit, you will definitely win. And we always had it strong. This is something that always irritated the Russians.”
