Putin spoke about the trip behind the wheel in Mariupol

President Vladimir Putin told author of the program “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin” to Pavel Zarubin about his trip to Mariupol March 19. Mr. Putin said that this purely working trip was long overdue, it was also important to feel the mood of the people. The President admitted that he was driving without wearing a seat belt.

Mr. Zarubin, asking why Vladimir Putin decided to travel, noted that it is still very unsafe in the DPR. “It was time to come and look at the example of Mariupol, how the restoration work is going. What needs to be done additionally, what is a priority. It’s one thing when you see it on paper, on the screen… So I looked at how the FMBA clinic is being built, a huge facility, serious, modern, how residential areas are being built. I’ll tell you, this is such a quarter, it is no different from some good Moscow or St. Petersburg quarter,” Mr. Putin said. He got acquainted with the overhaul of the university, two sports grounds, a philharmonic society, living quarters and examined public spaces.

“Well, it was also important with people, of course, to be honest, there was an unexpected contact, I thought that these were workers, because the men were in work clothes, I wanted to talk to them about how work is going here, but it turned out that they were local residents ”, the President continued his story about the trip to Mariupol.

“Why are you driving, because an unfamiliar city, trucks are driving towards you, tractors are driving around?” asked Pavel Zarubin. “We didn’t violate anything, the only thing we violated was driving without a safety belt. In such conditions, it’s better not to buckle up, it’s better to be able to quickly get out of the car,” Vladimir Putin replied.

Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov saidthat his movements around Mariupol were spontaneous. At first, the plan of the President’s visit did not include communication with local residents and visiting them.

Read more in the publication “Kommersant” “Mariupol stories”.

Maria Fedotova