Putin Makes Surprise Visit to Russian-Occupied Mariupol

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) gestures while speaking with Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin as they look at reconstruction illustrations while he visits the Russia-annexed city of Mariupol late on March 18, 2023. Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a surprise visit to the port city of Mariupol, his first trip to the Russian-occupied territory.

Mariupol is in the Donetsk region, one of four largely Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine that Putin in September moved to annex in an action rejected as illegal by most countries at the United Nations General Assembly.