Foreign Ministry reacts to arrival of ICC wanted Putin in Crimea

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has drawn attention to the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin, suspected of war crimes, to occupied Crimea, which the invaders timed to coincide with the ninth anniversary of the peninsula's annexation.

The ministry recalled that 16 March marked the nine-year anniversary of Russia's fake "referendum on the status of Crimea" and 18 March of the attempted illegal annexation, when the so-called "agreements on the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation" were signed. This was said in a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry.

Also, the Foreign Ministry pointed out that Putin was wanted by an international criminal court, suspected of war crimes.

At the same time, the diplomats stressed that Putin had come to Crimea, which has been suffering for nine years due to the Kremlin's presuppressive regime, which has turned the peninsula into an area of violence, unfreedom, and total militarism.

The Foreign Ministry stressed that the seizure of the island took place nine years ago at gunpoint, while the fake "referendum" allegedly held by the invaders grossly violated international law and was not recognised by the international community.

In September 2022, Russia repeated this trick, organizing a similar propaganda action called "referenda" in the temporarily occupied territories of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine," the statement said.

At the same time, the Foreign Ministry noted that both in 2014 and in 2022, the referendum show has no consequences for the administrative and territorial structure and internationally recognized borders of Ukraine.

Most of the territories where they were held in 2022 have already been liberated by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The liberation of all other temporarily occupied territories is also bound to happen. It is only a matter of time," the statement said.

The Foreign Ministry also thanked allies and partners for supporting Ukraine and understanding that Crimea is Ukraine.

We express gratitude for the willingness of our international partners to move steadily towards the full de-occupation of all the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including Crimea and Sevastopol," the statement said.

The Foreign Ministry assures that it will continue making its best efforts to punish Russia and its leadership for the crime of aggression, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine.