LOCKED AND LOADED
Putin seen with nuclear briefcase on shock trip to Ukraine in closest ever visit to front as nuke bombers take flight
VLADIMIR Putin has been pictured with his nuclear briefcase during a surprise visit to eastern Ukraine close to the frontline.
It comes as the 70-year-old Russian president sent up two Tu-95MS nuclear bombers over the east of the country as a sudden war drill.
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Vlad was seen walking stiffly as he emerged from a helicopter in the Ukrainian city of Kherson.
He was also seen awkwardly getting out of an SUV before being greeted by the top brass at a military base in the east of the country.
Vlad seemed to limp as he walked towards his commanders while an aide was seen possibly carrying the infamous nuclear suitcase.
The briefcase appears to be the same black ridged case often associated with the Cheget.
Similar to the US's nuclear football, Russia's nuclear briefcase, the Cheget, is kept under 24-hour supervision by armed guards and has a personalised key code.
It was developed in the early 1980s and was first seen on TV in 2019.
This appearance of the briefcase, coupled with the nuclear air drills, is likely to spark fears that Putin is growing ever more desperate to secure some kind of symbolic victory in Ukraine.
The Soviet-era Tu-95s were flown over the Baring and Okhotsk seas in Russia's latest show of strength with the West.
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During the major war drills, the two fighter jets - nicknamed Bears - were refuelled by an Il-78 tanker aircraft.
It isn't clear how recent the visit was, however, it is believed it took place several days ago ahead of the Orthodox Easter.
The visit was only announced today by the Kremlin, which released heavily-edited footage of Putin's trip.
He reportedly made an appearance at the "Dnipro headquarters" in Kherson before going to the HQ of the Vostok National Guard in Luhansk.
The Kherson region has seen a major buildup of Russian forces ahead of a rumoured Ukrainian counter-offensive in the east of the country.
British military intelligence said on Tuesday that heavy fighting had continued in eastern Ukraine, although Russia had been forced to reduce its troop numbers as part of the continued assault on Bakhmut.
The Kremlin said of the latest visit: "The Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation visited the headquarters of the Dnipro grouping of troops in the Kherson direction and the headquarters of the Vostok National Guard in the Luhansk People's Republic."
If true, the visit would have been the first by Putin to both the Luhansk and Kherson regions of Ukraine which are both claimed by Russia.
It comes a month after Putin's shock visit to Mariupol in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine - his first to the country since the start of his brutal invasion in February last year.
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