On Tuesday afternoon, Putin paid a surprise visit to Khabarovsk, a far-eastern city hit by devastating floods in late August and early September.

“The president decided to be with those who endured this unprecedented natural disaster".

He said he would like to make a toast “for the people as well as for the health of those impacted by the flooding.”

Putin attended a New Year’s reception for rescuers and people who lost their houses in the floods, an event hosted by his envoy to the Far East region, Yury Trutnev.

Ahead of the celebration, Putin visited a temporary shelter for Khabarovsk residents rendered homeless by the disaster.

On his way to Khabarovsk, the president’s plane made a stop in the Siberian city of Chita to take on board the widow of the only person known to have died in the floods.

That person, Bair Banzaraktsaev, was a military man who took part in the rescue effort. He was driving a truck along a partially inundated highway linking Khabarovsk and another far-eastern city, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, when damp soil gave way under the heavy vehicle. He drowned while trying to prevent his truck from sliding into the water.