Russian President Vladimir Putin inspected regions of Kherson and Luhansk in Ukraine occupied by Russian troops and mercenaries during an unannounced visit Monday, the Washington Post reports. Putin’s trip was not previously announced out of security concerns, a sign that the Kremlin’s stated confidence about the security and support it claims in the region is tenuous.
Scheduled for the day after Orthodox Easter is celebrated, Putin’s trip was the second to Ukraine since the February 2022 invasion. While Putin has asserted Russian rule over the region through a little-respected annexation announcement, Russia does not have control of the areas, forcing the Kremlin to designate new regional capitals from which Russian quislings will govern occupied territories.