Russian president Vladimir Putin has made a surprise last-minute trip to a children’s centre in Crimea on the anniversary of the Kremlin’s annexation of the region.
Mr 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.
The court specifically accused him on Friday of bearing personal responsibility for the abduction of children from Ukraine during Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country, which started almost 13 months ago.
Responding to the ICC move, US president Joe Biden said Mr Putin had “clearly committed war crimes.” He added: “I think it’s justified. But the question is – it’s not recognised internationally by us either. But I think it makes a very strong point.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia does not recognise the ICC and regards its decisions “legally void”. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that most of the world considered illegal.
