RUSSIA – As if nothing had happened, he continued his image war. The day following the ICC announced an arrest warrant for him for war crimes, Vladimir Putin invited himself to Crimea for a surprise visit. This Saturday, March 18 marked the ninth anniversary of the annexation of this Ukrainian territory.
This is the Kremlin master’s first trip to Crimea since the outbreak of war in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, which earned Russia a series of severe international sanctions, added to those already imposed following the annexation of 2014.
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Arrived in Sevastopol, home port of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, Vladimir Putin attended, as you can see in the video at the top of the articleat the inauguration ceremony of a school of arts for children in the company of the local governor, Mikhail Razvojayev.
Crimea, issue of possible peace talks
This city being located only regarding 240 km from Kherson, a southern Ukrainian city retaken by the army of Kiev in November following the withdrawal of Russian forces, this trip of the Russian president is also the first carried out in a place so close. from the front line.
Russia annexed Crimea on March 18, 2014, following a referendum not recognized by kyiv and the international community. If Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in January that he intended to take back Crimea – ” our earth “ – with weapons, Moscow does not stop hammering that the “Crimea is Russian”refusing to make it the subject of possible peace negotiations.
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This visit by Vladimir Putin comes between two crucial days for the Russian president. Since Friday, he has been targeted since Friday by an arrest warrant issued once morest him by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which accuses him of “illegal deportation” of Ukrainian children. And on Monday, he will welcome his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to Moscow for a visit supposed to open a ” new era “ in relations between two allies. Last month, China sought to establish itself as a mediator in the Ukraine conflict by issuing a document urging Moscow and kyiv to hold peace talks.
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