Vladimir Putin visits war-torn Mariupol in show of defiance over war crimes arrest warrant

Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the war-torn city of Mariupol in a surprise tour of occupied territories in Ukraine, state media has reported.

This is the Kremlin leader’s first trip to Ukraine’s Donbas region since the conflict began just over a year ago. Ukraine considers it unlawful to enter the country without a legitimate border crossing.

It comes days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues a warrant for Mr Putin’s arrest over alleged war crimes, including the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. Moscow, which does not recognise the authority of the ICC, has denied the allegations and labelled the warrants as “outrageous”.

The southeastern city of Mariupol became a symbol of defiance after outgunned and outmanned Ukrainian forces held out in the city’s Azovstal steelworks for three months while it was under siege.

Moscow finally took control of the facility – and with it, the strategically important port city in the Sea of Azov – in May last year after a surrender.

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Mr Putin arrived in Crimea on Saturday in a surprise visit to mark the ninth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the Black Sea peninsula.

He then flew by helicopter to the port city in Donetsk – the Ukrainian region close to the Russian border which was annexed in September 2022, along with Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia. Mr Putin signed a law that absorbed the regions into Russia after a referendum, which Ukraine and the West rejected as a sham.

State-owned news agency TSSA described the excursion to Mariupol as a “working trip”, with the president travelling around several districts of the city and stopping along the way to speak to residents.

A video posted by state media showed the president driving around the city and visiting the Philharmonic Hall which was allegedly used by Russia to stage trials of the defenders of the Azovstal industrial complex.

This is the closest Mr Putin has been to the frontlines since the war began.

Russia has been rebuilding Mariupol in its own image after fierce fighting ravaged more than 2,500 buildings – accounting for almost half of the city.

The ruined steelworks was once one of the largest plants in Europe, but Russian architects are turning it into a “tech and eco park”.

Mr Putin greeted high-ranking military personnel on his tour, including Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov – head of his “special military operation” in Ukraine – while in southern Russia, and Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed governor in Sevastopol, Crimea’s largest city.

Russian media reported that he visited a new Russian arts school, a children’s summer camp and future cultural projects, such as the New Russia museum and museum of Christianity.

On Friday the ICC issued the warrant for Mr Putin’s arrest on suspicion of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of people from the territory of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. It’s the first time the leader of a UN Security Council member has had an arrest warrant issued against them.

Mr Purin is yet to comment publically on the arrest warrant, but his spokesman has called it “null and void”.

However, he is unlikely to face trial as the court does not extradite its citizens and Russia does not recognise its jurisdiction.