- A defiant Putin has begun a tour of occupied areas of Ukraine, stopping in Crimea and Mariupol.
- The Russian chief visited besieged areas which have confronted widespread casualties for the reason that invasion started.
- The journey comes after the Worldwide Prison Court docket issued a warrant for his arrest for warfare crimes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun a macabre tour of occupied Ukraine, two days after the Worldwide Prison Court docket issued a warrant for his arrest for warfare crimes associated to Russia’s invasion of the nation.
Putin stopped first in Crimea on Saturday, The New York Instances reported, with the go to timed to align with the ninth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the area in 2014.
In response to Russian state-sponsored media outlet Tass, Putin then visited Mariupol early Sunday in his first-ever go to to the Donbas area. Mass graves have been found within the besieged Ukrainian metropolis, after Russian forces leveled the area and bombed a metal plant the place civilians and Ukrainian defenders had been hiding.
Throughout Putin’s go to to the area, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin started making a report about reconstruction efforts within the metropolis and its outskirts, Tass reported.
“Specifically, the report involved the development of recent residential districts, social and academic amenities, utility infrastructure and medical facilities,” Tass reported the Kremlin press service mentioned.
The Russian chief’s go to to occupied Ukraine comes on the heels of the Worldwide Prison Court docket, a tribunal primarily based in The Hague, Netherlands, issuing a global arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin on Friday. The ICC accused Putin of being chargeable for warfare crimes dedicated throughout Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and is looking for him to face trial — although it’s unlikely he’ll accomplish that, as Russia, just like the US, doesn’t acknowledge the authority of the ICC.
Representatives for the ICC declined to reply Insider’s questions concerning the chance Putin will face a trial for the warfare crimes he’s accused of.
Chinese language chief Xi Jinping is about to satisfy with Putin throughout a go to to Russia starting Monday, in keeping with the Chinese language Ministry of Overseas Affairs. Xi and Putin plan to debate “deepening Russian-Chinese language cooperation” between their nations, the Kremlin mentioned in a Friday assertion.
Ukrainian navy leaders have hinted at the potential of a springtime counteroffensive, although an nameless official instructed The Washington Submit that every one hope for a counterattack will depend on Western navy assist and educated troops arriving within the area.
America has offered billions of {dollars} of assist to Ukraine because it faces the Russian invasion, with President Joe Biden promising to proceed sending navy and humanitarian assist.
