Putin’s Mariupol visit came a day after he travelled to Crimea to mark the 9th anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the Black Sea peninsula
The President of Russia – Vladimir Putin has visited Mariupol, a Ukrainian city in the Donetsk region which has been occupied by Moscow’s forces since May 2022.
Putin flew to Mariupol by helicopter and drove around several districts of the city. Putin interacted with the rehoused residents and briefed them on reconstruction efforts. The visit came a day after Putin travelled to Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 following a referendum that was not recognized by Ukraine and the international community. The President of Ukraine – Volodymyr Zelenskyy has demanded that Russia withdraw from Crimea as well as the areas it has occupied since it launched an invasion last year.
Putin also visited the Black Sea Port City of Sevastopol, accompanied by the local Moscow-appointed Governor – Mikhail Razvozhayev. During his trip to Mariupol, Putin also visited a new residential neighborhood that had been built by the Russian military with the first people moving in last September.
Mariupol had a population of half a million people before the war and was home to the Azovstal steel plant, one of Europe’s largest, where Ukrainian fighters held out for weeks in underground tunnels and bunkers before being forced to surrender.
From Mariupol, Putin went to Rostov in Southern Russia, where he had a meeting with the Chief of the General Staff – Valery Gerasimov, Commander of Russia’s war effort in Ukraine. The visit to Mariupol was the first that Putin has made to the Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine’s Donbas region since the war started, and the closest he has come to the front lines.
Referring to Putin’s visit to Mariupol, the Defence Ministry of Ukraine tweeted,
As befits a thief, putin visited Ukrainian Mariupol, under the cover of night.
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) March 19, 2023
First, it is safer.
Also, darkness allows him to highlight what he wants to show, and keeps the city his army completely destroyed and its few surviving inhabitants away from prying eyes.
Besides, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant against him and for war crimes of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. The President of the United States (U.S.) – Joe Biden has welcomed the move.
Taking it to twitter, Zelenskyy tweeted,
International Criminal Court issues warrant of arrest for Putin. The historic decision, from which historical responsibility will begin. pic.twitter.com/cUW0WbeGKJ
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 17, 2023
Putin has yet to comment publicly on the warrant. The Kremlin Spokesman has called it “null and void” and said Russia finds the very issues raised by the ICC to be “outrageous and unacceptable”.
