Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in the Donetsk region. The region has been occupied by Moscow troops since May last year.
Putin flew to Mariupol by helicopter and drove through parts of the city, Al Jazeera reported on Sunday.
Reports of the Mariupol visit came a day after Putin travelled to Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine. Russian state TV also showed him visiting the Black Sea port city of Sevastopol on Saturday, accompanied by the local Moscow-appointed governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, after a referendum that was rejected by Kyiv and the international community.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded Russia withdraw from Crimea. As well as the territories it has occupied since last year’s invasion of Crimea.
cc: Al Jazeera
