On rare trip outside Moscow, Putin visits aviation plant in Siberia

According to Meduza, Vladimir Putin made an unannounced visit to an aviation manufacturing plant in Irkutsk, Siberia. State media outlets including TASS did not report on the trip until the afternoon, but local social media and residents had spotted the presidential aircraft landing in the morning. Sergei Chemezov, head of the state defense contractor Rostec, and Irkutsk's regional governor accompanied Putin as he inspected production facilities for Russia's new M-S twenty-one medium-range passenger jet. The trip is notable because Putin's regional visits have become increasingly rare—his last reported trip outside Moscow was in June for an economic summit in Kazan. Reports from European intelligence services, cited by multiple international outlets, have suggested that Putin significantly increased his security measures and reduced his regional travel due to concern about a potential assassination attempt.

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