Putin visits Crimea after war crimes warrant issued against him

Russian president arrives in Crimea to mark the anniversary of the peninsula’s 2014 annexation from Ukraine.

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

Putin was greeted on Saturday by the Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, and was taken to see a brand new youngsters’s centre and artwork faculty on what the official mentioned was a shock go to.

“Our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is aware of find out how to shock. In a great way,” Razvozhayev mentioned on the messaging app Telegram.

“However Vladimir Vladimirovich got here in particular person. Himself. Behind the wheel. As a result of on such a historic day, the president is all the time with Sevastopol and the folks of Sevastopol,” the Moscow-appointed official mentioned.

State media didn’t instantly broadcast any remarks from Putin, a day after the Worldwide Prison Courtroom (ICC) mentioned it had issued an arrest warrant in opposition to him and accused him of the conflict crime of illegally deporting a whole lot of kids from Ukraine.

Putin has but to remark publicly on the warrant. The Kremlin spokesman has referred to as it “null and void” and mentioned Russia finds the very points raised by the ICC to be “outrageous and unacceptable”.

Russia seized Crimea in 2014, eight years earlier than launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine says it’s going to struggle to expel Russia from Crimea and all different territory that Russia has occupied within the year-long conflict.

Putin has proven no intention of relinquishing the Kremlin’s beneficial properties. As a substitute, he pressured on Friday the significance of holding Crimea.

“Clearly, safety points take high precedence for Crimea and Sevastopol now,” he mentioned, referring to Crimea’s largest metropolis. “We’ll do all the things wanted to fend off any threats.”

The ICC’s arrest warrant was the primary issued in opposition to a pacesetter of one of many 5 everlasting members of the UN Safety Council. The courtroom, which relies in The Hague, Netherlands, additionally issued a warrant for the arrest of Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for youngsters’s rights.

The transfer was instantly dismissed by Moscow and welcomed by Ukraine as a significant breakthrough. Its sensible implications, nonetheless, might be restricted as a result of the probabilities of Putin dealing with trial on the ICC are extremely unlikely. Moscow doesn’t recognise the courtroom’s jurisdiction or extradite its nationals. Putin would face arrest, nonetheless, is he travels overseas to an ICC member nation.