Facing arrest warrant, Russia’s Putin visits annexed Crimea
- Russian state news agency said Putin visited an art school and children’s centre, locations that appeared to have been chosen in response to ICC arrest warrant
- The International Criminal Court accused Putin of bearing personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine during Russia’s invasion
Russian President Vladimir Putin travelled to Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of the Black Sea peninsula’s annexation from Ukraine on Saturday, the day after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader accusing him of war crimes.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said Putin visited an art school and a children’s centre, locations that appeared to have been chosen in response to the court’s action.
The court specifically accused him on Friday of bearing personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine during Russia’s full-scale invasion of the neighbouring country that started almost 13 months ago.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that most of the world denounced as illegal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded that Russia withdraw from the peninsula as well as the areas it has occupied since last year.
Putin has shown no intention of relinquishing the Kremlin’s gains. Instead, he stressed on Friday the importance of holding Crimea.
“Obviously, security issues take top priority for Crimea and Sevastopol now”, he said, referring to Crimea’s largest city. “We will do everything needed to fend off any threats”.