Mariupol, March 19 (HS): Russian President Vladimir Putin appears for the first time after being issued an arrest warrant for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Putin visited the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol in Ukraine on Sunday.

Mariupol is located in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk region. It is under the occupation of the Russian army since May last year. Putin arrived in Mariupol by helicopter. Later took a city tour by car and interacted with the local citizens.

He also met top officers of his military operation in Mariupol. These include Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. Valery is in charge of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Anton Gershchenko, advisor to Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, shared videos of Putin's visit on social media.

Hindustan Samachar/ Mukund/Indrani Sarkar