On the ninth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the peninsula on an unannounced visit on Saturday.

On a surprise visit, Vladimir Putin was greeted by the Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, and taken to see a new children’s centre and art school.

After the International Criminal Court announced it had issued an arrest warrant for Putin and charged him with the war crime of forcibly removing hundreds of children from Ukraine, state media did not immediately air any comments from Putin.

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The action, Vladimir Putin has not yet made any public remarks. His spokesman has called it “null and void,” and has stated that the ICC’s very questions are “outrageous and unacceptable” to Russia.

Russia took control of Crimea in 2014, eight years before launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine says it will fight to evict Russia from Crimea and all other territories occupied by Russia during the year-long conflict.

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