Putin visits Crimea on anniversary of annexation
Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of the Black Sea peninsula's annexation from Ukraine on Saturday, one day after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader accusing him of war crimes.
Putin visited an art school and a children's center.
![PHOTO: Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Sevastopol Governor Mikhai Razvozhayev, and Metropolitan Tikhon Shevkunov, chairman of the Patriarachal Council for Culture, visit a children's arts-and-crafts center on March 18, 2023.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/putin-crimea-nc-jt-230318_1679151314094_hpMain.jpg)
![](https://i.abcnewsfe.com/a/57baa3de-ef4a-4956-85c2-caccdb2949f3/putin-crimea-01-nc-jt-230318_1679151524176_hpEmbed_3x2.jpg)
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that most of the world denounced as illegal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has demanded that Russia withdraw from the peninsula as well as the areas it has occupied since last year.
Putin has shown no intention of relinquishing the Kremlin's gains. Instead, he stressed Friday the importance of holding Crimea. "Obviously, security issues take top priority for Crimea and Sevastopol now," he said, referring to Crimea's largest city. "We will do everything needed to fend off any threats."
-ABC News' Edward Szekeres