• War in Ukraine Putin returns to Crimea, the prologue to his invasion
  • War in Ukraine The surgeon of Mariupol: "We operate under the bombs to the last patient"

After more than a year of war in Ukraine, the Russian president has walked through the devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol at the wheel of a vehicle, in what is his first visit to the occupied territories of the Ukrainian region of Donbas since the beginning of the war.

Earlier, Vladimir Putin had made a surprise visit to Crimea to mark the 9th anniversary of Russia's annexation in 2014 and just two days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader.

"Our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin knows how to surprise. In the good sense of the word," Moscow-appointed governor Mikhail Razvojaev wrote on Telegram.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in January reaffirmed Ukraine's sovereignty over Crimea and its refusal to include it as a concession in any peace negotiations.

Putin's visit did not mark a pause in military operations in eastern Ukraine, where at least two people were killed and ten wounded, three seriously, in "cluster bombs" in Kramatorsk, a city in the Donbas mining basin, according to Pavlo Kirilenko, regional governor of Donetsk.

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08.28

Donetsk governor denounces bombing with "cluster bombs"

Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Mariupol and Crimea did not mark a pause in military operations in eastern Ukraine, where at least two people were killed in Russian bombings, according to Ukrainian sources.

At least two people were killed and ten wounded, three seriously, in shelling with "cluster bombs" in Kramatorsk, a city in the Donbas mining basin (east), according to Pavlo Kirilenko, regional governor of Donetsk.

AFP journalists heard near-simultaneous explosions around 16 p.m. local time and saw smoke rising from a park in the south of the city.

Shortly after, a dozen explosions of the same type shook a residential neighborhood, about 2 km from the first target.

Reporters witnessed the death of a woman as a result of the bombing of the park and saw a taxi driver seriously injured in the residential area.

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08.30

Putin visits Mariupol city in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the shell-ravaged Ukrainian city of Mariupol on his first trip to the conflict zone since the start of Russia's offensive in Ukraine, the Kremlin said Sunday.

Putin arrived in Mariupol after visiting the Crimean peninsula on Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of Russia's annexation in 2014.

Putin arrived by helicopter in Mariupol and toured the city driving a vehicle himself, the official TASS news agency quoted the Kremlin as saying.

He spoke with locals, visited sites of interest and received a report on the reconstruction work in Mariupol, the same source said.

This is her first visit to this port city in southeastern Ukraine, devastated after months of siege by Russian forces, who captured it in May 2022.

Putin's arrival in Mariupol came after his surprise visit to Crimea.

In Sevastopol, home port of Russia's Black Sea fleet, Putin attended the inauguration of an arts school for boys alongside local governor Mikhail Razvokhayev, according to images from the Rossia-1 public television network.

This is Putin's closest trip to the front line.

"Our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin knows how to surprise. In the good sense of the word," Moscow-appointed governor Mikhail Razvojaev wrote on Telegram.

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