Putin, 70, is seen limping as he makes a surprise visit to Crimea amid claims he is suffering from ill health a day after a war crimes arrest warrant was issued for the Russian leader.
- Vladimir Putin, 70, was seen limping while making a surprise visit to Crimea today.
- A war crimes arrest warrant was issued for the Russian leader on Friday.
Vladimir Putin was seen limping while making a surprise visit to Crimea amid claims he is suffering from ill health, a day after a war crimes arrest warrant was issued for the Russian leader.
The 70-year-old defied the West and arrived in annexed Crimea today, Russian media reports said.
The footage appeared to show Putin at the Sevastopol naval port, which has come under repeated Ukrainian attacks in recent months.
His arrival came a day after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him on war crimes charges.
Today marks the ninth anniversary of their illegal annexation of Crimea.
Vladimir Putin was seen limping while making a surprise visit to Crimea amid claims he is suffering from ill health, a day after a war crimes arrest warrant was issued for the Russian leader.
The 70-year-old defied the West and arrived in annexed Crimea today, Russian media reports said.
The footage appeared to show the dictator in the Sevastopol naval port, which has come under repeated Ukrainian attacks in recent months.
Putin was seen with his aide Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of occupied Sevastopol, surrounded by six bulky bodyguards evidently wearing bulletproof vests.
The 70-year-old leader appeared uncomfortable as he walked in contrast to appearances earlier this week in Moscow and the Siberian city of Ulan-Ude.
Evidently, he arrived at the port, home of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, in a black Toyota Land Cruiser.
Also with him was Orthodox Bishop Tikhon Shevkunov, Putin’s personal confessor who compared the dictator to Czar Peter the Great.
Putin was seen with his aide Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of occupied Sevastopol, surrounded by six bulky bodyguards evidently wearing bulletproof vests.
“Our President Vladimir Putin knows how to surprise in a good way,” said the governor.
He was scheduled to appear via video conference but made an unexpected appearance on the disputed peninsula, said the governor, who is not recognized by the West.
‘Vladimir Vladimirovich came in person, driving.
‘Because on such a historic day, the president is always with Sebastopol and the residents of Sebastopol. Our country has an incredible leader.’
Also with him was Orthodox Bishop Tikhon Shevkunov, Putin’s personal confessor who compared the dictator to Czar Peter the Great.
Putin was seen near others in Sevastopol, unlike other appearances, especially on Friday when he addressed oligarchs and business leaders from a distance.
The trip came amid claims in some quarters that Putin suffers from health problems and uses body doubles -doppelgängers- for some appearances during the war he unleashed a year ago in Ukraine.
Putin was seen visiting the Korsun Children’s Center in Sevastopol.
It is his first visit to the annexed peninsula in three years.
