Russian President Vladimir Putin made a stealth visit to parts of eastern Ukraine occupied by Russian forces, the closest the Russian leader has come to the front lines since ordering the invasion more than 14 months ago.
The Kremlin confirmed the visit Tuesday, saying Mr. Putin visited military headquarters sites in Ukraine’s Kherson region in the south and Luhansk in the east.
The purpose of the trip was to get a briefing on Russia’s stalled offensive inside Ukraine and to mark the celebration of Orthodox Christian Easter, which fell on Sunday.
“It’s important for me to hear your opinion on the situation, to listen to you and to exchange information,” Mr. Putin said in a conversation with officers in the Kherson region in a video clip released by the Kremlin.
It was Mr. Putin’s second trip to Ukraine since the invasion began in February 2022.
Separately, a Russian judge ruled Tuesday that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich must remain in jail on espionage charges in a case that has furthered damaged U.S.-Russian relations. The newspaper and the Biden administration have condemned the reporter’s arrest, the first detention of a U.S. journalist on spying charges since the days of the Cold War.
Mr. Gershkovich has been held since March after Russia’s Federal Security Service detained him in Yekaterinburg, alleging he was caught seeking classified information about a Russian arms factory.
Appearing in public for the first time in weeks on Tuesday, Mr. Gershkovich could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted, the Associated Press reported.
Russian forces are bracing for an expected Ukrainian counterattack in the coming days, but Mr. Putin was not seen with his defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, or Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff and lead commander for the Ukrainian operation, in the video released by the Kremlin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, briefing reporters Tuesday, hinted that the shaky security situation inside Ukraine was partly to blame.
“Gathering together is a big risk,” he said.
Mr. Putin’s government formally annexed four eastern and southern border regions of Ukraine last fall, a move widely rejected by the international community. But Russian forces have struggled to expand beyond those regions and even lost some territory in recent months to advancing Ukrainian forces.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been a far more frequent presence on the front lines in Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, and made another visit Tuesday to talk with Ukrainian troops and get a briefing from local commanders in Avdiivka, Donetsk, his office said.
Avdiivka is just 40 miles from Bakhmut, the ravaged city that has become the focal point of fierce fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces in recent months.
Posting on Twitter, Mykhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to Mr. Zelenskyy, said mockingly that Mr. Putin was returning to “enjoy the crimes of his minions for the last time.”
“Putin’s degradation is impressive,” Mr. Podolyak tweeted.
But Mr. Peskov described the trip, which was not announced in advance, as “the routine work of the commander in chief,” according to the official TASS news agency.
“Now the president visits the new regions more frequently,” Mr. Peskov said. “Naturally, he inspects headquarters, receives operational information on the spot about the progress of the special military operation. … This is how he works.”
• David R. Sands can be reached at dsands@washingtontimes.com.
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