On August 13, 2026, Vladimir Putin made his first-ever visit to Iturup (Etorofu), one of the four islands Japan calls its Northern Territories — seized by the Soviet Union in the final days of World War II. He toured a fish processing plant, tasted caviar, visited a hospital and a school, and called the island ‘like a resort.’ No flags on military bases: a display of ordinary Russian life on disputed ground. This video explains why the islands never came back in 80 years — the treaties of 1855 and 1875, the 1956 deal that almost happened, the Sea of Okhotsk ‘bastion’ where Russia’s nuclear submarines hide, and why the question in Japan has shifted from ‘when will they return’ to ‘what do we keep on record.’ Together with how Reddit reacted.
Full article: https://sekahan0623.com/en/global-reactions-en/putin-kuril-islands-first-visit/
X (Twitter): https://x.com/sekahan_0623
This program is produced with synthesized narration (Voice: Google Cloud Text-to-Speech (Chirp 3: HD)).
