Balanced News: Vladimir Putin visits Crimea on anniversary of Russia’s illegal 2014 annexation

On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin travelled to Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of the Black Sea peninsula’s annexation by Russia. The trip comes the day after the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the Russian leader accusing him of war crimes. The court specifically accused him of bearing personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine during Russia’s full-scale invasion of the neighboring country that started almost 13 months ago. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that most of the world denounced as illegal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has demanded that Russia withdraw from the peninsula as well as the areas it has occupied since last year. Putin has shown no intention of relinquishing the Kremlin’s gains. Instead, he stressed Friday the importance of holding Crimea. “Obviously, security issues take top priority for Crimea and Sevastopol now,” he said, referring to Crimea’s largest city. “We will do everything needed to fend off any threats.” Sevastopol