Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited occupied parts of the Ukrainian region of Kherson.
He attended a military meeting to hear reports from commanders, according to the Kremlin.
Mr Putin is also thought to have visited the Luhansk region. Russia annexed Kherson and Luhansk last year.
Such trips by the Russian leader are rare, although he made a surprise visit to the city of Mariupol in March.
It is not known when the trip to Kherson took place but at one point in footage released of the trip, Mr Putin refers to the Easter holiday “coming up”- suggesting that it happened some days ago. Orthodox Easter was celebrated last Sunday.
The Kremlin has said that the trips were not prepared in advance.
Russian media reported that the president also enquired about the situation in the Zaporizhzhia region, which Moscow has also claimed as part of Russia.
He is quoted as telling the military meeting in Kherson that while he did not want to distract them from their duties, “it is…
This article was written by and originally published on www.bbc.co.uk