Defiant Putin Visits Mariupol, a City Razed by Russian Forces
New York TimesMar 19, 2023
The Facts
Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin made a "working visit" to the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Saturday night, following an unannounced trip to Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of Russia's takeover of the Black Sea peninsula.
Putin flew into the city by helicopter, before driving a car through the streets in darkness. The Russian president met locals and visited the home of a local resident, before being briefed on reconstruction work by deputy prime minister Marat Khusnullin, the Kremlin said in a statement Sunday.
The Spin
Anti-Russia narrative
The timing of the Russian president's first visit to occupied Ukrainian territory — which comes just a day after he was accused by the International Criminal Court of presiding over the abduction of Ukrainian children — shows a lack of remorse. His forces not only bombed a maternity hospital and a regional theater sheltering civilians, deliberately reducing the symbol of Ukrainian resistance to ruins, his invasion has killed thousands and displaced millions in Ukraine.
Pro-Russia narrative
Putin's visit to Mariupol shows how far it has been developed since it was destroyed by retreating Ukrainian forces. Houses, bridges, hospitals, transport routes, and concert halls have all been rebuilt by Moscow's forces and, thanks to Russian efforts, residents have been actively returning to a functional city. Criticizing Putin's visit as an orchestrated stunt is a biased narrative being pushed to serve the West's interests.
Nerd narrative
There's a 1% chance that Russia will be removed from the UN Security Council by 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
