After receiving a warrant for war crimes, Putin travels to Crimea.

 The Russian president travels to Crimea to commemorate the anniversary of the peninsula's seizure from Ukraine in 2014.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has landed in Crimea on an unexpected visit to mark the ninth anniversary of Russia's seizure of the peninsula from Ukraine.

In what the official described as a surprise visit, Putin was welcomed on Saturday by Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of Sevastopol, who Russia had placed. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, our president, is a skilled surprise. Positively," Razvozhayev wrote on the Telegram chat service.

"But Vladimir Vladimirovich showed up. He. in the driver's seat. Because of this historic day, the president is always with Sevastopol and its residents, the official chosen by Moscow said. State media did not immediately air any statements from Putin following the International Criminal Court (ICC) announcement that it had issued an arrest warrant against him and charged him with the war crime of transferring hundreds of children from Ukraine against their will.

Putin still hasn't made any public remarks about the warrant. The Kremlin official referred to the ICC as "null and illegitimate," saying that Moscow views the issues it addresses as "outrageous and terrible."

Eight years before beginning its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia captured Crimea in 2014. Ukraine declared that it would fight to drive Russia out of Crimea and all other areas that it has taken during the protracted war.

Putin has demonstrated a lack of desire to give up the achievements made by the Kremlin. Instead, he emphasized the significance of keeping Crimea on Friday. He referred to Sevastopol, the capital of Crimea, saying that security concerns were now the region's top priority. "We will take all necessary precautions to repel any threats,"

That was the first time an arrest warrant from the ICC was issued for a head of a group of five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's commissioner for children's rights, has a warrant for her arrest from the Hague-based court.

Moscow instantly discounted the action, while Ukraine hailed it as a significant advance. But, given how unlikely the ICC will try Putin, its practical ramifications may be modest. Russia refuses to extradite its citizens or recognize the court's jurisdiction. Putin, however, would be subject to arrest if he traveled to a nation that is a member of the ICC.