Putin visits Crimea following war crimes warrant

Putin visited an art school and a children's centre, a day after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant, accusing him of war crimes

Russian President Vladimir Putin (C), Governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev and Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov), chairman of the Patriarchal Council for Culture, visit the state museum-preserve 'Tauric Chersonese' in Sevastopol, Crimea March 18, 2023. Credit: Reuters/Sputnik/Russian Presidential Press Office/Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has travelled to Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of the Black Sea peninsula's annexation from Ukraine.

Putin visited an art school and a children's centre on Saturday, a day after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader, accusing him of war crimes.

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The court specifically accused him 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 considered illegal.

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