VOLGOGRAD, Russia, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed security and anti-terrorism Wednesday in Volgograd, still reeling from two suicide bombings in a 24-hour span.
Putin met with senior regional and federal officials to discuss "what is being done here and all across the country to maintain public security," RIA Novosti reported.
Putin arrived in Volgograd, once known as Stalingrad, after delivering a televised address Tuesday in which he called the attacks "inhumane" and pledged that Russia would fight terrorism until it is eliminated.
"No matter what motivated these criminals, there is no justification for crimes against civilians, particularly against women and children," Putin said.
Two separate suicide bombings ripped through the southern Russia city Sunday and Monday, killing a total of 34 people. Officials said the attacks on a railway station and trolleybus were carried out by suicide bombers.
A suicide bomber on a commuter bus killed six people and injured 37 in October. The incidents, and the presence of 5,000 Interior Security troops carrying out searches that resulted in dozens of detentions, tempered New Year's Eve celebrations in the city, the New York Times reported.
After the meeting, Putin visited the site of Monday's trolleybus attack to lay flowers, and visited victims at a hospital.
