UKRAINE: THE SITUATION 421 - APRIL 18, 2023

The Russian President Vladimir Putin presented himself as a warlord during his visit to the occupied territories of Kherson and Luhansk in anticipation of a planned Ukrainian counteroffensive.

As the Kremlin stated on April 18, Putin visited the headquarters of the Russian Dnepr Troop Group in the Kherson region and the headquarters of the Vostok National Guard in the occupied Luhansk region. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also stated that Putin visited the occupied territories on April 17. However, in one of the videos, Putin mentioned that the Orthodox Easter holiday was "approaching," indicating that his visit took place before April 16. The Kremlin later edited the video to remove Putin's mention of the upcoming Easter holiday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the front line in Avdiivka on April 18, and it is possible that the Kremlin intentionally released footage of Putin's visit to overshadow Zelensky's visit in the information space. The ISW reports on Russian milbloggers criticizing Russian officials for not visiting the front lines like Zelensky, and Putin had previously visited the occupied Mariupol on March 19 to enhance his image as a warlord. Russian occupation officials and milbloggers celebrate Putin's visit and claim that he has boosted the morale of Russian soldiers preparing to repel Ukrainian counterattacks. Geolocated footage shows Putin on the Arabat Spit in the southwest of Kherson Oblast – at least 130 km from the nearest front line.

The complete Russian Offensive Update 421 is available directly from UNDERSTANDING WAR.

UNDERSTANDING WAR online