Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, listens to Sakhalin Region Governor Valery Limarenko in Kurilsk on the Iturup Island, the largest of the Kuril Islands of Russia’s fareast, on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. Gavriil Grigorov/Pool Sputnik Kremlin
Gavriil Grigorov/Pool Sputnik Kremlin
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday made his first visit to the Kuril Islands, a Moscow-controlled Pacific archipelago that also is claimed by Japan, which voiced a diplomatic protest over the trip.
Putin
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