War in Ukraine: Putin visits Crimea on the anniversary of the annexation of the territory

The visit seems to be unexpected. Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Crimea on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of Russia’s 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula, Russian public television reported. On a surprise trip to Sevastopol, the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s home port in Crimea, the Russian head of state visited an art school in the company of local governor Mikhail Razvoyaev, according to images broadcast by the TV channel. Russia 1.

“Our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin knows how to surprise. In a good sense of the word, ”Mikhail Razvozhaev wrote on Telegram. According to him, on Saturday, with the participation of the Russian leader, the opening ceremony of the children’s art school was to take place via videoconference. “But Vladimir Vladimirovich came personally. Myself. Driving. Because on such a historic day as today, he is always with Sevastopol and its inhabitants,” said Mikhail Razvozhaev.

“Our country has an incredible leader! he exclaimed enthusiastically. Recall that Russia annexed Crimea on March 18, 2014 following a referendum that was not recognized by Kiev and the international community. While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in January that he intended to take back Crimea — “our land” — in arms, Moscow keeps hammering out that “Crimea is Russian,” refusing to make it the subject of possible peace talks.

Putin was under an ICC arrest warrant

Vladimir Putin, whose last visit to Crimea dates from November 2021, has since Friday been the subject of an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which charges him with the war crime of “illegal deportation.” children.

The Kremlin has invalidated the order, which was announced on the same day that Moscow and Beijing announced Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia next week, which should usher in a “new era” in relations between the two countries. allies.

The visit will take place from March 20 to 22, just over a year after the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, which forced the Kremlin to refocus on China amid tensions with the West, which supports “Ukraine”.