Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin travelled to Crimea on Saturday to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the peninsula's annexation, just a day after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him in connection with the Ukraine conflict.
Turkiye announced the extension of a deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain in the aftermath of Russia's offensive, but Kiev and Moscow disagreed on the length of the extension.
Putin's surprise visit to Crimea was his first since sending troops to Ukraine on February 24 last year, with the exception of when he drove across the bridge connecting the territory to mainland Russia last December.
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Russian state television showed him visiting the Black Sea port city of Sevastopol, accompanied by Mikhail Razvozhayev, the local Moscow-appointed governor. According to Razvozhayev, Putin was expected to participate in the opening of a children's art school via video link.
"However, Vladimir Vladimirovich appeared in person. Himself. In the driver's seat. Because the president is always with Sevastopol and the people of Sevastopol on such a historic day," he said.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, following a referendum that neither Kiev nor the international community recognised.
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in January at the Davos forum that Ukraine aimed to reclaim Crimea as "our land." Moscow has refused to participate in any potential peace talks.
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Putin's visit came a day after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest in connection with the "deportation" of Ukrainian children. According to Kyiv, over 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the conflict began last year, with many of them placed in institutions and foster homes. According to ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, Putin is now subject to arrest if he enters any of the court's more than 120 member states.
The warrant has yet to be addressed publicly by Russia's 70-year-old leader. However, the Kremlin dismissed the warrant's legality, claiming that because Russia did not recognise the ICC's jurisdiction, it was "void."
The decision by the Hague-based court came ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow next week to sign accords ushering in a new era of relations. Xi is scheduled to visit Russia from Monday to Wednesday.
China, a key Russian ally, has sought to portray itself as a neutral party, urging Moscow and Kiev to settle the conflict through negotiations. Western leaders, however, have repeatedly chastised Beijing for failing to condemn Russia's offensive, accusing it of providing diplomatic cover for Moscow's campaign.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced in Ankara that the two countries had agreed to extend the agreement that had allowed Ukraine, a major grain exporter, to resume shipments. However, there was disagreement about the terms.
The deal was extended for 120 days, according to Ukraine's infrastructure minister, but a spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry said Moscow had agreed to a 60-day extension.
Following Russia's deployment of troops last year, Ukrainian Black Sea ports were blocked by warships. The agreement reached in July 2022 by Turkiye and the United Nations, and signed by Kyiv and Moscow, allowed for the safe passage of exports. In November, it was extended for another 120 days.
On the ground, fighting is concentrated in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, particularly in the city of Bakhmut. Russian strikes killed two people and injured ten others in the nearby city of Kramatorsk on Saturday, according to regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, who accused Moscow of using cluster bombs in the attack.
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He said the Russian forces had targeted a park and damaged "a dozen residential buildings. Just before 4:00 p.m. local time (1400 GMT), AFP journalists in Kramatorsk heard around ten explosions nearly simultaneously and saw smoke rise above a park in the city's south. They saw a woman die at the scene from her injuries.