Putin travels to occupied Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the captured Ukrainian city of Mariupol over the weekend despite facing fresh war crimes charges. Mariupol achieved recognition earlier in the war when Ukrainian soldiers held out against Russian forces for more than 80 days in a bombed-out steel plant.

Will Putin be arrested? The Russian government does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which charged Putin with war crimes on Friday. Even so, the arrest warrant may increase his isolation and make trips outside of Russia more precarious. If Putin travels to one of the 123 countries that signed the treaty establishing the ICC, that country is obligated to arrest him. The United States is not a full signatory to the treaty.

Dig deeper: Read Evgeny Kosykh’s report in WORLD Magazine about the people in Russia speaking out against Putin’s regime.