The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin visited the occupied city of Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast during the night on March 19 “as befits a thief” for security reasons and in order not to show the real view of the destroyed city.
“Darkness allows him to highlight what he wants to show, and keeps the city his army completely destroyed and its few surviving inhabitants away from prying eyes,” the statement read.
During Putin’s first visit to Mariupol, which has been completely occupied since May 2022, he reportedly visited several districts of the city by car after flying to the city via helicopter.
The visit came several days after Putin also made a short visit to occupied Crimea on the anniversary of the peninsula’s illegal annexation by Russia.