Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting Mariupol
Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting temporarily occupied Mariupol KREMLIN.RU/Reuters

KEY POINTS

  • A woman was heard shouting off camera that Putin's propaganda was 'not true'
  • The Kremlin uploaded an edited version of the PR video that cut out the heckling incident
  • Many Mariupol residents called out Putin for not visiting parts of the city decimated by the Russian army

The Kremlin is now doing damage control after overlooking a heckler in Russian President Vladimir Putin's latest PR video.

Putin visited the temporarily occupied city of Mariupol on March 19. There, he toured the area and met with alleged local residents who were seen thanking him for Russia's "help" and calling their home a "little piece of heaven."

The Kremlin on Sunday uploaded a 27-minute video of the tour. However, Putin's team likely overlooked a part of the video where a heckler was heard shouting off-camera, calling out the Russian leader for a scripted PR stunt.

"It's all not true, it's all for show!" the woman said, as shown in a video obtained by The Insider.

Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, who was standing beside Putin, was later seen grinning uncomfortably following the incident. Putin's security team was also seen looking around in hopes of tracking the heckler.

On Tuesday, the Kremlin took down the original video and uploaded a nearly 31-minute edited version where the incident was replaced with a scene showing a local resident telling Putin, "We are praying for you," according to the We Can Explain project.

The unidentified heckler was not the only person who took a swipe at the Kremlin for publishing another propaganda video. Across the messaging platform Telegram, others questioned why Putin did not film in parts of the city that were destroyed by his own military.

"It's a pity that he didn't drive up to our house, the left bank, the square! No windows, no doors, no hot water and heating. I would talk to the locals," one of the residents wrote.

"He was only taken to places that were preserved and new buildings. Nobody will show him the empty pits under the foundations of destroyed houses," another social media user wrote, as translated by The Daily Beast.

Putin's trip to Mariupol marks his first visit to Ukraine since he launched his so-called "special military operation" in February of last year. It is also the closest the Russian leader has been to the frontline since the war began.

Russia's President Putin attends Prosecutor General collegium meeting in Moscow
Reuters