Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol after the Russian president was issued an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court accusing him of war crimes, but was destroyed by his invading army last year.
State television showed Putin arriving in the port city by helicopter in the early hours of Sunday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed the entire trip to Mariupol was planned “spontaneously” and said Putin had driven around the frontline city without a full motorcycle escort, according to state newswire RIA Novosti.
It was the first visit by a president to Russia-occupied territory in Ukraine, which includes four provinces Moscow has been attempting to annex since it launched a full-scale invasion of the country last year.
Putin has largely avoided visiting the frontlines, living mostly in Moscow, where even his top officials have highly restricted access to him, and holds meetings online.
After visiting Mariupol, Putin made a rare public appearance in southern Russia’s Rostov-na-Donu, where he listened to a report from Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, the commander in chief of the Ukraine campaign.
The visit to Mariupol, part of four provinces claimed by Russia – although it does not control the entire region – came a day after Putin made his first visit to Crimea, the peninsula he annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
The unannounced visit underscores Putin’s determination to continue the faltering offensive despite Russia’s heavy casualties, economic isolation and an ICC warrant holding him of “personal criminal responsibility” for the forced relocation of children from Ukraine’s occupied territories. Is charged.
Kiev says more than 16,000 children have been abducted during the war, including more than 1,000 from Mariupol, which the Russian army razed to the ground after a brutal three-month siege.
Putin, who has not commented on the allegations, and Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova could face arrest if they travel to any country that is part of the ICC.
In state television footage, Putin was seen driving a black jeep through the streets of Mariupol, accompanied by Marat Khusulin, a top Russian official, who showed him Russia’s efforts to rebuild the city.
They were taken to the Philharmonic concert hall in Mariupol, where Russia had originally planned to hold show trials last year accusing Ukrainian prisoners of war crimes before scrapping the idea.
He was also shown talking to people, which state TV said were local residents who told the president they were “praying for him” and asked Russia to rebuild their apartments after their homes were destroyed. Thanked
Ukrainian officials have stated that at least 22,000 of Mariupol’s pre-war civilian population died in the siege, and estimates suggest the full toll may be many times higher.
But on Sunday Khusnullin said residents were returning to Mariupol because of Russia’s reconstruction efforts. “People have started coming back. When they saw that the reconstruction work was going on, people actively started returning,” he said.
He vowed to complete the reconstruction of the heavily damaged city center by the end of the year. He claimed that the destruction in Mariupol was caused by the retreating Ukrainian army.
Standing with them, Putin said, “They are Nazis. Civilized people would not do this.”
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