Vladimir Putin visits Russian troops in occupied Kherson and Lugansk

An apparent show of support for the invading troops and a challenge to the invaded country. Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived on Ukrainian soil to meet with his army in the occupied regions of Kherson in southern Ukraine and Lugansk in the east.

In Kherson, the Kremlin leader held a meeting with senior military commanders and in Lugansk he held meetings at a National Guard headquarters.

“It is important for me to listen to their opinion on how the situation is developing, to listen to them, to exchange information,” the man who has ruled Russia the longest assured the commanders.

According to information from Moscow, specifically, Putin listened to the reports from the commanders of the airborne forces and the Army deployed on one side of the Dnieper River; as well as the situation in Zaporizhia, also in the south of the attacked country.

Kherson, Donetsk, Lugansk and Zaporizhia are the four Ukrainian regions that Russia annexed in disputed referendums in September 2022, despite the fact that its troops did not occupy all of those territories.

Although the images of the Russian leader with his soldiers in Ukraine were revealed on Tuesday, April 18, the Kremlin assured that the visit took place a day before.

While it is the second time Putin is known to have moved into territory seized during the ongoing war, this time he did so in broad daylight, unlike last month when he arrived in eastern Mariupol at midnight. On that occasion he also went to Crimea, a region that was annexed in 2014.

The Government of the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski, accused the Russian leader in the last hours of touring the scenes of the “crime”.

Putin’s visit comes ahead of the expected Ukrainian counteroffensive

Putin’s arrival, which according to the Kremlin took place on Monday, April 17, although the images were published on Tuesday, occurs at a time when the Russians are preparing for a counteroffensive by Kiev forces, which would take place next month of May.

Although last November the Russian military withdrew from the city of Kherson, capital of the homonymous province, in the midst of a great Ukrainian offensive to recover its territories, the invading army has been reinforcing its positions on the western bank of the Dnieper river towards where he fled at that time.

A renewed operation in which the hopes of the Ukrainians are pinned to push back the troops of the neighboring country, after more than a year of invasion. But his counterpart is not willing to waver either.

After a Russian winter offensive that failed to make much headway and saw even its troops bogged down in a series of battles to the east and south at enormous human cost to both sides, Moscow digs in and takes action .

According to information cited by the newspaper ‘The country’the Russians have erected up to 800 kilometers of fortifications, especially in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhia, with triple lines of trenches, anti-tank ditches, concrete towers for machine guns and bunkers. Something not seen in Europe since the Second World War, when the then Nazi Germany built on its land and in Italy, the legendary Siegfried Line and Gothic Line.

The recent leak of Pentagon documents on the Ukrainian counter-offensive has probably given Moscow new insights into the strategy planned by its “enemy”. Although a change in tactics following the revelations is unknown, the documents indicated, among other details, the presence of a small contingent of Western special forces inside Ukraine.

US journalist detained by Russia appears in Moscow court

Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for the ‘Wall Street Journal’ and the first US journalist to be detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War, appeared before a Moscow court on Tuesday to appeal the decision to keep him in pretrial detention until at least next May 29.

This is essentially a procedural hearing, covering under what circumstances he should be detained while Gershkovich awaits trial and investigators work out the details of the case.

Gershkovich was arrested on March 29 in the city of Yekaterinburg, in the Urals, on charges that carry a possible sentence of 20 years in prison. Local authorities accuse him of allegedly collecting what they say were “state secrets” about a military complex, allegations he rejects.

The Kremlin maintains that he was caught “red-handed”, but Washington maintains that it is a politically motivated detention that it calls “illegal” and “unfair”.

US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy said she managed to pay the reporter a first visit, and the White House said it expects regular consular access for Gershkovich.

“He is feeling well and is resilient. We reiterate our call for Evan’s immediate release,” Tracy said in a statement.

“It was good to see it today and again we want to make sure we can continue to do so,” added White House national security spokesman John Kirby.

The Government of President Joe Biden advises its citizens not to travel to Russian territory, due to the danger of arbitrary arrest and states that Americans living in Russia should leave immediately.

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Moscow has banned all independent media outlets, both domestic and foreign.

Against this background, journalism has been severely limited by laws that impose long sentences for any public criticism of the conflict.

With Reuters, AP and local media