Russian President Putin visited the headquarters of Russian troops in the temporarily occupied Kherson and Luhansk regions. His trip was not announced.
The TV channel of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation published relevant messages and videos in the morning of April 18.
Russian media claim that Putin visited the headquarters of the "Dnieper" military group in the Kherson direction, and then arrived in the so-called "LPR" at the headquarters of the "East" guard. In the captured territories, Putin listened to the reports of commanders and military leaders. However, despite the protocol, neither Minister of Defense Serhiy Shoigu nor Chief of the General Staff Valerii Herasimov accompanied him. Instead, he met with the commander of the Airborne Forces, Colonel-General Mykhailo Teplinsky.
- Russian state media claim that this is Putinʼs second visit to the occupied territories —on March 19, he allegedly visited the destroyed Mariupol. At that time, the Ukrainian intelligence could not confirm this.