What Putin's rare trip to occupied Kherson and Luhansk involved
A look back at the Russian president's visit to two occupied Ukrainian oblasts and his meetings with military commanders.
What did it mean when Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, appeared in occupied parts of Ukraine on 18 April 2023? As reported at the time, he made a rare visit to Russian-occupied areas of Kherson and Luhansk oblasts and met military commanders in charge of operations there.
The trip came against the backdrop of Russia's declared annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. Russia had announced that step unilaterally on 30 September 2022, while its invasion of Ukraine continued. Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts had been invaded by Russia in 2022, whereas most of Luhansk oblast and part of Donetsk oblast had been controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014.
None of the four oblasts was fully under Russian control when the annexation was declared, and that remained the case afterwards. The boundaries of the areas Russia claimed were not defined at the time; Russian officials said they would be set later. Kherson and Luhansk, the two oblasts Putin visited on 18 April 2023, were both among the four named in the declaration.
The visit was notable chiefly because such appearances by the Russian president in occupied territory were rare, and because it centred on meetings with the commanders directing the military campaign.
