KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the port city of Mariupol, Russian state news agencies reported on Sunday morning, in what would mark his first trip to Ukrainian territory that Moscow illegally annexed in September.
Mariupol became a worldwide symbol of defiance after outgunned and outmanned Ukrainian forces held out in a steel mill there for nearly three months before Moscow finally took control of it in May.
On Saturday, Putin traveled to Crimea, a short distance southwest of Mariupol, to mark the ninth anniversary of the Black Sea peninsula’s annexation from Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev visit the Children’s Art and Aesthetic center, part of Chersonesos Taurica historical and archeological park in Sevastopol, Crimea, Saturday, March 18, 2023. Putin has traveled to Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of the Black Sea peninsula’s annexation from Ukraine. (Sputnik, Kremlin Press Service Pool Photo via AP)
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