Just two days after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest, Russian President Vladimir Putin made an unexpected stop in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which was taken over by Russian forces last May. Putin visited the occupied city—which suffered much devastation, including the bombing of a theater that’s thought to have killed some 600 Ukrainians— after spending Saturday in Crimea, a region that was illegally annexed by Russia nine years ago. State news outlet Tass reported Sunday that Putin flew from Crimea to Mariupol, calling it a “working trip” where he met with residents and surveyed building projects. Putin’s weekend trip to occupied Ukraine comes despite the arrest warrant, which accuses the Russian leader of war crimes in Ukraine, including unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children to Russia and Russian-occupied areas.
