Ukraine-Russia: Vladimir Putin visits occupied territories for second time since March

Russian president Vladimir Putin has visited troops in the occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson in his second trip to Russian-held territories since March.

The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited headquarters of the Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.

A video released by the Kremlin and broadcast by Russian state television showed Mr Putin visiting the command post for Russian forces in the southern Kherson region.

It showed Mr Putin arriving by helicopter to receive reports from military leaders about the combat situation. He then travelled to the headquarters of the Russian National Guard of the eastern Luhansk region to hear a report from commanders.

In both locations, Mr Putin congratulated the military on Orthodox Easter, which was celebrated on Sunday, and presented them with religious icons.

Russia annexed the Kherson and Luhansk regions along with the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions in September in a move that was rejected by much of the world as illegal.

It was impossible to independently verify the footage of Mr Putin's visits to the two regions that was released by the Kremlin, however, he reportedly spoke to troops, asking them for their “opinion” on progress in the war.

Last month, Mr Putin visited the Russian-held Sea of Azov port city of Mariupol, which was captured by Russian troops in May after two months of fierce fighting.

Mr Putin's trips to the military headquarters come as Ukraine is preparing for a new counter-offensive to reclaim the occupied territories.

Russia's war in Ukraine has turned into a stalemate amid heavy fighting in the country's east, particularly around the town of Bakhmut, which for eight-and-a-half months has been the stage for the war's longest and bloodiest fight.

Ukrainian officials have said they are buying time by depleting Russian forces in the battle while Kyiv prepares a counter-offensive.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has argued that if Russia wins the Bakhmut battle, it could allow Mr Putin to begin building international support for a deal that would require Ukraine to make unacceptable compromises to end the war.

Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, said Ukraine's allies are helping the government to achieve the level of technical equipment necessary to launch the attack.

"We will defeat Russia," he said. "If you have a strong inner spirit, you will definitely win. And we always had it strong. This is something that always annoyed the Russians."