As Group of Seven foreign ministers in Japan blasted a Russian plan to install nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited security forces in portions of Ukraine that Russia claims it seized last year.

The Kremlin claimed that Putin attended a military command meeting in Kherson and a national guard headquarters in Luhansk.

He visited without Kremlin notification.

Commanders of the airborne forces briefed him, the “Dnieper” army group, and other senior officers at Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk are three of the four eastern territories Putin annexed in September. However, Russia only partially controlled the regions after Ukraine and its Western allies rejected the annexations.

In preparation for a Ukrainian counteroffensive, Russian troops withdrew last November from Kherson, the provincial capital.

Since Russian soldiers invaded 14 months ago, many Western leaders have visited Kyiv to discuss with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy; Putin has rarely visited Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine.

He visited Crimea and Mariupol last month.

Russia claims its Feb. 24 “special military operation” in Ukraine was necessary to defend itself against a hostile West.

Ukraine and its Western allies claim Russia is waging an unjustified war to seize territory.

The Russian winter attack failed, and its troops have been mired in east and south conflicts that have cost both sides.

After months of attrition, a Ukrainian counteroffensive was expected.
Last month, Putin announced that Russia would place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which borders Ukraine.

Russia claims NATO’s border expansion compelled the deployment.

It was the first time Russia had indicated it would place nuclear weapons on another country since the Cold Crisis ended three decades ago. It looked to heighten the stakes in an increasing standoff with the West over the crisis in Ukraine.

On Tuesday in Japan, G7 foreign ministers called Russia’s nuclear weapons site in Belarus “unacceptable.”

“Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and its threat to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus are unacceptable,” the ministers said in a communique after a three-day summit in Japan.

“Russia would face severe consequences for using chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons.”

The Ukraine war has killed tens of thousands, leveled cities, displaced millions, and sparked concerns about a global food shortage due to grain supply disruptions.

After a hiatus that threatened to shut off the Black Sea trade corridor, Russia’s RIA news agency reported that grain ships from Ukraine are being inspected again.

According to RIA, Ukraine’s failure to follow regulations caused Monday’s stoppage.

On Monday, Kyiv said Russia had stopped ship inspections in Turkish seas, threatening the U.N.-brokered grain export deal.

RIA said that grain ships’ transit hinged on weather and compliance.

As Russia argues that another agreement to facilitate its agricultural and fertilizer exports has not been upheld, the grain arrangement, in existence since July, may not be extended.

Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, said Russia was breaching its pledges to countries that rely on regional grain.