Vladimir Putin was in Mariupol for the first surprise visit to Donbass since the start of the war in Ukraine. He arrived by helicopter and visited places where buildings are being built.
The Russian president made a working visit to the city of Mariupol, on Vladimir Putin’s first trip to Donbass, in eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin confirmed on Sunday. According to the Russian presidency, the head of state arrived by helicopter in the southern city of the Donetsk region of Ukraineon the shores of the Azov Sea, which last year was the scene of fierce fighting.
the russian president it was “to check some places in the city and talk to the neighbors” and drove through the streets of Mariupol accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnulin, who briefed him on the progress of construction and reconstruction work.
“This was the construction of new housessocial and educational centers, infrastructure and medical institutions,” the Kremlin press office added in a statement, which did not specify the duration of the visit.
Later, Putin visited the city of Rostov-on-Don, located in the south of Russia, near the border with Ukraine, for a meeting with the head of the Armed Forces, Valeri Gerasimovand several military commanders.
This was the first official visit by the Russian leader to the Donbass region, where fighting has been taking place since 2014 with pro-Russian separatist forces. Putin had already made another surprise visit to Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of the annexation. of the Ukrainian peninsula by Russia in 2014. In early March, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also paid an official visit to Mariupol to discuss infrastructure reconstruction work in the city.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday issued an arrest warrant against the Russian president for war crimes, for his alleged involvement in child abductions in Ukraine. The Prosecutor General of the Court identified in his petition for the arrest warrant of Vladimir Putin the deportation to Russia of “at least hundreds of children from Ukrainian orphanages and children’s centers.”
The British Karim Khan alleged that these acts of deportation of Ukrainian minors to Russia and their adoption by Russian families “demonstrate your intent to permanently remove these children from your own country“, an illegal act contrary to the Geneva Conventions. The attorney general also said that such acts were committed in the context of “acts of aggression” by the Russian military against Ukraine.
The arrest warrant against the head of the Kremlin was described as “legally null and void” by Russiasince the country does not recognize the legitimacy of the Court.
Source: Observadora
