Putin Visits Crimea On 9th Anniversary Of Its Illegal Annexation

Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Crimea on Saturday, Mar. 18, 2023, to mark the ninth anniversary of the Black Sea peninsula’s annexation, Euronews reported.

Photo Insert: The trip comes the day after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader, accusing him of war crimes.

The trip comes the day after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader, accusing him of war crimes. Putin visited an art school and a children’s center, locations that appeared to have been chosen in response to the court's action on Friday.

The court specifically accused him of bearing personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine during Russia's full-scale invasion of the neighboring country that started almost 13 months ago.

Putin has shown no intention of relinquishing the Kremlin’s gains. Instead, he stressed Friday the importance of holding Crimea, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) also reported.

Sevastopol has been a target of regular Ukrainian strikes since the start of the Russian invasion a year ago. In January, Russia claimed to have downed 10 Ukrainian drones out to sea.

In October 2022, a massive attack involving air and sea drones reportedly targeted the Black Sea Fleet. In October, a blast hit the road-and-rail Kerch bridge linking Russia and the Crimean peninsula.

In July 2022, a drone attack ahead of Russia's Navy Day celebrations hurt five people in Sevastopol, forcing authorities to cancel events. In April, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet -- the Moskva -- was sunk by Ukrainian forces in a major blow to Moscow.

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