What did Putin see in Mariupol?

Putin in Mariupol/ Photo EPA-EFE/RUSSIAN PRESIDENT PRESS SERVICE/

Driving through the devastated city, Vladimir Putin made his first visit to Mariupol, which Russian forces captured during the war.

The journalists of "BBC"followed part of Putin's route, which passed by the places where several notorious attacks took place last year during the months-long assault by the Russian army. Russia took over the city in May.

A video released by Russian media shows Putin talking to a companion as they head to the city's concert hall. The Kremlin says the visit took place late on Saturday and Putin decided to "spontaneously" tour the city.

The exiled Ukrainian mayor of Mariupol, Vadim Boychenko, told the BBC that Mariupol was "important" to Putin because of what happened there.

"We have to understand that Mariupol is a symbolic place for Putin, because of the fury he inflicted on the city. No other city was destroyed like that. No other city was under siege for so long. "No other city was subjected to such a bombardment," he said.

"He personally came to see what he had done," he added.

Putin in Mariupol/ Photo EPA-EFE/RUSSIAN PRESIDENT PRESS SERVICE/

The Russian president visited some of the city's key landmarks.

He is with, as the Russian media say, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnulin.

As they drove along Miru Avenue, they passed the bird sculptures on Freedom Square in the center of Mariupol.

Furthermore, they passed the maternity hospital in Mariupol, which was bombed in the infamous incident last March.

Source BBC/ Photo Google Maps

The road then led Putin to Mayru Avenue, just before arriving in front of Theater Square – the site of the deadly bombing that is thought to have killed between 300 and 600 civilians.

Civilians used the building as a shelter from the siege, and in front of the theater was a large sign spelling out "children" in Russian. The building collapsed after being hit. Russia denied carrying out the bombing and blamed the Azov Battalion. In December, Ukrainian city officials in exile said Russia was demolishing the theater's ruins.

The footage then shows Putin on a walking tour of the new housing complex, said to be in the Nevsky district of Mariupol. Putin, together with Khusnulin, who shows him some plans for the reconstruction work. He was also seen talking to people who Russian media said were local residents and visited an apartment he was told was made up of three rooms.

Nevsky is a new district consisting of a dozen residential blocks in the western part of the city. It was named after the Neva River, on which the hometown of President Vladimir Putin, St. Petersburg, is located.

Mayor Boychenko said many of the Russian-built buildings are on the outskirts of the city. “They built this just to prove that their version of what's going on there is true. But they lie! They lie that they came to liberate the city. They destroyed it. This city no longer exists. And it takes 20 years to come back!” he said.

Putin's tour then continued walking through the interior of the Mariupol concert hall. Russian state media said it was the Philharmonic Concert Hall.

This is the same building that the UN has warned should be used to try Ukrainian soldiers who have resisted Russian forces for months at the huge Azovstal iron and steel plant in Mariupol. Russia finally gained full control of Mariupol in May after the defenders surrendered.

Azovstal factory in Mariupol, Photo: EPA-EFE / SERGEY VAGANOV

But the trials never took place, as the captives were later part of a prisoner exchange, including former MP Viktor Medvedchuk.

The latest shots from inside the concert hall show that the interior of the building has since been remodeled.

During the siege, the concert hall, as well as the drama theater, was used by civilians for shelter. Cultural institutions were "where people hid in basements and waited for the Russian terror to end," Boychenko said.

Before the invasion, it was the venue for the classical music festival Mariupol Klasik. Boychenko said the festival is "a great celebration of classical music for the people of Mariupol" that attracts artists from abroad and other parts of Ukraine.

"Many people have always gathered at this festival to feel the mood that has always prevailed in Mariupol," he said.

In later footage, President Putin is seen visiting a World War II memorial built to honor Soviet troops who retook the city from Nazi Germany.

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