MOSCOW: Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Saturday visited Crimea to mark the 9th anniversary of the annexation of the peninsula, a day after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued his arrest warrant over the Ukraine war.
Meanwhile, Turkiye announced the extension of the grain deal that has allowed Ukraine to export its grain following Russia’s offensive. Still, Kyiv and Moscow disagreed if the deal was prolonged for two or four months.
The Russian President’s surprise visit to the peninsula was his first to Crimea since he sent forces to Ukraine on February 24 last year.
Putin visited the Sevastopol Black Sea port city, accompanied by the local governor Mikhail Razvozhayev.
On the messaging app Telegram, Razvozhayev said that Putin had been expected to participate in opening a children’s art school by video link.
“But Vladimir Vladimirovich came in person. Behind the wheel, on such a historic day, President Putin is always with Sevastopol and the Sevastopol people,” he said.
In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine following a referendum that Kyiv and the international community did not recognise.
Ukraine aims to reclaim Crimea
Speaking at the Davos summit in January, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine aimed to reclaim Crimea, “our land”. Russia has refused to include it in possible peace negotiations.
Putin’s visit came a day after the ICC issued his arrest warrant over the “deportation” of Ukraine’s children.
Over 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the beginning of the conflict last year, according to Kyiv, with several allegedly placed in institutions and foster homes.
