Putin visited the Kuril Islands in person for the first time.

      The Japanese Foreign Ministry expressed "strong protest" regarding such a visit.

      Photo: taken from the Kremlin's Telegram channel.

      Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first personal visit to the Kuril Islands, landing on Iturup Island as part of a working trip to the Far East, as reported by the Kremlin's press service. Putin's trip to the Kurils became a hot topic of discussion in the Japanese segment of social media, gathering over 2,000 messages in just a few minutes and topping the trends, TASS reports. During a meeting with the governor of the Sakhalin region, Valery Limarenko, Putin noted that Russians are doing everything possible for victory, adding that this quality is "in the blood" of the people. "We have such people — genetically predisposed to victory," he said. The first item on the agenda in Iturup was a visit to the "Yasny" fish processing complex. The head of the enterprise informed the president that due to climate change, there has been an increase in the number of tuna in the coastal waters, with sizes reaching up to 300 kilograms. The governor also suggested that Putin go halibut fishing, promising that the catch would be guaranteed.

      taken from the Kremlin's Telegram channel.

      Putin also visited the Kuril Central District Hospital, where he inquired about the state of the ambulance service. After the chief physician mentioned the need to replace one of the vehicles, Putin remarked, "We'll replace it." Limarenko added that he was ready to take responsibility for the decision, to which Putin jokingly replied, "I wanted to do it myself, but the governor got ahead of me. Then we'll hold him accountable."

      Additionally, the president visited the secondary school named after Hero of Russia Norpolov, where he inspected the gym, classrooms, and museum, as well as interacted with the students.

      At the same time, the Japanese Foreign Ministry expressed "strong protest" regarding Putin's visit to the Kuril Islands, claiming that all "northern territories" (as Japan refers to the southern part of the Kuril Islands, including Iturup) are "historically" Japanese territory, TASS wrote.

      Earlier, Putin stated that Moscow does not threaten Tokyo, but Japan has claims.

      Nikita Egorov

      More news about the event:

      Putin personally visited the Kuril Islands for the first time.

      The Japanese Foreign Ministry expressed "strong protest" regarding such a visit.

      Photo: taken from the Kremlin's Telegram channel.

      Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first personal visit to the Kuril Islands. 08:44 13.08.2026 Real Time - Kazan

      Putin personally visited the Kuril Islands for the first time and spoke about the "genetic code of winners" among Russians.

      Russian President Vladimir Putin personally visited the Kuril Islands for the first time. 07:47 13.08.2026 Business Online - Kazan

      News from neighboring regions on the topic:

      Vladimir Putin visited Iturup Island.

      Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup Island, reports kremlin.ru. 13:12 13.08.2026 Information Portal of Sverdlovsk Region - Yekaterinburg

      Vladimir Putin spoke about the genetic code of Russians.

      Russians have a genetic code of winners. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with the governor of the Sakhalin region, Valery Limarenko, on Iturup Island, reports RIA Novosti. 11:11 13.08.2026 Kingisepp Today - Kingisepp

      Putin on Iturup: why the news exploded Japanese social media and what this signal means.

      Putin's visit to the Kurils exploded Japanese social media.

      On August 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Kuril Islands for the first time, starting his working program with a visit to the "Yasny" fish processing enterprise. 17:56 13.08.2026 Teleport2001.Ru - Blagoveshchensk

      "Life has become more comfortable in Sakhalin": Putin and Limarenko discussed support for SVO fighters, families, and the future of the islands.

      During his working trip to Iturup, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a bilateral meeting with the governor of the Sakhalin region, Valery Limarenko. 18:37 13.08.2026 Sakhpress.Ru - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

      Japan was alarmed by Putin's visit to the Kurils.

      Putin's visit to Iturup became a trending topic in the Japanese segment of social media X. Japan was alarmed by Putin's visit to the Kurils.

      Photo: REUTERS. 18:36 13.08.2026 Komsomolskaya Pravda - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

      President Vladimir Putin visited the Kurils.

      President Vladimir Putin personally visited the Kuril Islands for the first time, reports the regional government press service. 18:32 13.08.2026 Soviet Sakhalin Newspaper - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

      Putin's visit to the Kurils became the most discussed topic in the Japanese segment of X.

      Anna Salnikova, News Feed Editor.

      Vladimir Putin's visit to Iturup Island instantly exploded the Japanese segment of social media X. 12:05 13.08.2026 Pro Gorod Perm - Perm

      Putin visited the Kuril Islands for the first time during his presidency.

      YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, August 13, Citysakh.ru. This week, Vladimir Putin visited Iturup. 17:56 13.08.2026 CitySakh.Ru - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

      The Japanese Foreign Ministry expressed protest over Putin's trip to the Kurils.

      The ministry's statement mentions the "historical belonging" of the southern Kuril Islands to Japan.

      SakhalinMedia, August 13. 17:55 13.08.2026 SakhalinMedia.Ru - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

      Japan considered Vladimir Putin's visit to Iturup a violation of its borders.

      The Japanese Foreign Ministry did not assess Vladimir Putin's visit to Iturup. 17:36 13.08.2026 News.Astv.Ru - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

      Japan expressed protest to Russia after Putin's visit to Iturup Island.

      Japan expressed protest to Russia after President Vladimir Putin's visit to Iturup Island, which is part of the Kuril Islands and is subject to territorial claims from Tokyo, reports RIA "Novosti". 09:25 13.08.2026 Rakurs 32 - Bryansk

      Vladimir Putin is working in the Far East. He personally visited the Kurils for the first time.

      Photo: kremlin.ru. Russian President Vladimir Putin personally visited the Kuril Islands for the first time. 16:23 13.08.2026 Amur.Life - Blagoveshchensk

      On the Kuril Island, Vladimir Putin was shown a giant tuna.

      Today, the president of the country, accompanied by the governor of the island region, Valery Limarenko, flew to Iturup Island.

      Visit to the "Yasny" fish processing plant on Iturup Island / screenshot from the press service video. 17:15 13.08.2026 Vostok.Today - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

      Tokyo expressed protest over Putin's visit to the Kurils.

      Photo: Savvapanf Photo/Shutterstock/Fotodom. The Japanese authorities expressed protest over Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to the southern Kuril Island of Iturup. 09:04 13.08.2026 Yamal-Media - Salekhard

      Japan expressed "strong protest" to Russia over Putin's trip to the Kurils.

      Japan reacted sharply to Putin's visit to the Kurils. Japan expressed "strong protest" to Russia over Putin's trip to the Kurils. 16:34 13.08.2026 Komsomolskaya Pravda - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

      Japan expressed "strong protest" regarding Putin's trip to the Kurils.

      The President of the Russian Federation visited Iturup Island.

      Photo: kremlin.ru. Japan expresses "strong protest" to Russia over Vladimir Putin's visit to Iturup Island. 08:27 13.08.2026 Spbdnevnik.ru - St. Petersburg

      Japan expressed "strong protest" to Russia regarding Putin's trip to the Kurils.

      The Japanese Foreign Ministry expressed "strong protest" regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip to Iturup Island. 08:26 13.08.2026 Moika78.Ru - St. Petersburg

      Japan expressed "strong protest" regarding Putin's trip to the Kurils.

      The President of the Russian Federation visited Iturup Island.

      Photo: kremlin.ru. Japan expresses "strong protest" to Russia over Vladimir Putin's visit to Iturup Island. 08:26 13.08.2026 Petersburg Diary - St. Petersburg

      Putin visited the Kuril Islands for the first time and revealed the genetic code of Russians.

      Putin visited the Kuril Islands in the Sakhalin region for the first time.

      Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Kuril Islands in the Sakhalin region for the