Putin visits Crimea after a war crimes warrant was issued against him | News of the war between Russia and Ukraine

The Russian President arrives in Crimea to celebrate the anniversary of the annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Crimea on an unannounced visit to celebrate the ninth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine.

Putin was greeted on Saturday by Mikhail Razvogayev, the Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, and taken to see a new children’s center and art school in what the official described as a surprise visit.

“Our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin knows how to surprise. In a good way,” Razuvugayev said on the Telegram messaging app.

But Vladimir Vladimirovich came up with his own. Himself. behind the wheel. Because on such a historic day, the president is always with Sevastopol and the people of Sevastopol, ”said the official appointed by Moscow.

State media did not immediately broadcast any remarks from Putin, a day after the International Criminal Court said it had issued an arrest warrant for him and charged him with the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

Putin has not yet publicly commented on the memo. A Kremlin spokesman called them “null and void” and said Russia considered the very cases raised by the ICC to be “outrageous and unacceptable”.

Russia seized Crimea in 2014, eight years before it launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine says it will fight to expel Russia from Crimea and all other territories Russia has captured in the year-long war.

Putin has shown no intention of giving up the Kremlin’s gains. Instead, on Friday, he stressed the importance of the Crimea contract.

“It is clear that security issues are now taking top priority for Crimea and Sevastopol,” he said, referring to Crimea’s largest city. “We will do whatever it takes to ward off any threats.”

The arrest warrant issued by the ICC was the first issued against a leader of one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. The court, based in The Hague, Netherlands, also issued an arrest warrant for Maria Lvova Belova, the Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights.

Moscow rejected the move immediately and Ukraine welcomed it as a major breakthrough. However, its practical implications could be limited because the chances of Putin facing trial at the International Criminal Court are highly unlikely. Moscow does not recognize the jurisdiction of the court and does not extradite its citizens. However, Putin will face arrest if he travels abroad to a country that is a member of the International Criminal Court.