Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the locomotive factory in Tula on Tuesday, the day of Finland’s official accession to NATO.
Putin visited the “Tulazheldormash” plant, which, in addition to building locomotives, is engaged in the production of equipment for the construction, reconstruction and maintenance of railways.
In the itinerary of Putin’s visit published by the Kremlin, it is indicated that “Tulazheldormash” is one of the “top enterprises” of Russian engineering, is included in the list of specialized organizations of the industry and “one of the strategically important enterprises of the region.” “.
Vladimir Putin inspects the Tulazheldormash plant in Tula. He was shown not only machines and equipment, but also 3D models. pic.twitter.com/hngBAcFbgH
— GraphicW (@GraphicW5) April 4, 2023
“The plant was founded in 1869 as a locomotive workshop of the Moscow-Kursk Railway. During the Great Patriotic War (the Second World War was not called that in Russia), the enterprise produced products for defense purposes (mines, special devices for destroying railways, guns for railway platforms),” TASS also reminds, to which it devoted a large material. for the visit.
“Due to the increased importance of the development and mastering of advanced technologies in the field of transport engineering as a result of the imposed sanctions, “Tulazheldormash” became one of the technological partners of the world-class scientific and educational center “TulaTECH”, created within the framework of the national project “Science”, – writes this agency about the Russian state press.
We must strive for 100% localization of production in Russia in critical areas – Putin
During his visit to the Tula plant “Tulazheldormash”, Putin inspected the assembly shop, the shop for blanks and welding units and was satisfied with what he saw.
1/ pic.twitter.com/4ZfjldvrAO— uD83CuDDF7uD83CuDDFAJacobuD83CuDDF7uD83CuDDFAChariteuD83CuDDF7uD83CuDDFA (@jaccocharite) April 4, 2023
Later in the day, Putin will take part in a meeting of the Presidium of the State Council of Russia, which, according to the Kremlin, will be devoted to the development of domestic industry in the face of sanctions against the country.
Putin at the factory, Finland in NATO
The Kremlin leader’s visit to Tula comes on the same day that Finland is due to join NATO, with the Scandinavian country abandoning its historic neutrality along with neighboring Sweden after Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine last year.
Finland will officially join NATO during a meeting of foreign ministers of the alliance, which will be held at the headquarters of the alliance in Brussels. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will hold a press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niiniste at 16:00 Romanian time, after which the official ceremony of accepting the Nordic country into the alliance will take place.
At the opening of the NATO meeting, Stoltenberg stated that Finland’s entry into the alliance is a historic event and a direct result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“President Putin’s stated goal of invading Ukraine was to have less to do with NATO. It achieves the exact opposite… Finland today, and soon Sweden will also become full members of the alliance,” the head of NATO emphasized.
Sweden’s entry into the alliance remains blocked by opposition from Turkey and Hungary.
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Source: Hot News
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