Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in the Donetsk region, occupied by Moscow forces, the Kremlin reported with reference to Russian mass media.

Putin flew to Mariupol by helicopter and visited several districts of the city, making stops and talking to residents, the TASS agency reported on Sunday with reference to the Kremlin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin walked through the streets of Mariupol together with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin.

Traffic was not blocked, and the leader from the Kremlin allegedly “calmly” drove with the townspeople, TASS notes.

Vladimir Putin talked with local residents, visited important places and received a report on the reconstruction work in this destroyed city, Russian media reports, writes Agerpres.

This is the first trip of the Russian leader to this port city of Ukraine, which was under siege for months and was occupied by the Russian army in May 2022.

On Saturday, Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, to mark nine years since the annexation.