As part of his first trip to Donbas, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a working visit to the city of Mariupol, the Kremlin said today.

According to the press service of the Russian president, the president arrived by helicopter in this city in the south of the Donetsk region, on the shores of the Sea of ​​Azov, where fierce fighting took place last year.

During the visit, Putin toured different areas of the city in a car that he drove himself, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnulin, who informed him about the progress of construction and reconstruction works in Mariupol and its surroundings.

“In particular, it was about the construction of new residential facilities, social and educational centers, infrastructure and medical institutions,” the Kremlin press service added, without specifying the duration of the visit.

Shortly after, the Russian presidency announced that Putin met in Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia, with the commander of the military campaign in Ukraine.

“The head of state listened to the reports of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Valery Gerasimov and other military leaders,” the message reads.

This Saturday, Putin made a surprise trip to the Crimean peninsula on the ninth anniversary of its annexation by Russia.

The President visited the Korsun art school and children’s center in Chersonese, near the port of Sevastopol, the main base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.