Ukraine compared Vladimir Putin to a killer returning to the scene of a crime after he traveled around Mariupol in defiance of his arrest warrant for war crimes.

It came as Britain pledged £395,000 to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to help convict the Russian leader.

Today London will host a meeting of ministers and prosecutors from 40 countries helping to bring Putin to justice.

Last night, the Kremlin published an article written by Putin for a Chinese newspaper praising their relationship and blaming the West for growing global instability.

In a sign that Mr. Putin is desperate to please China on the eve of the summit, he said: “We are grateful for China’s balanced position regarding the events taking place in Ukraine, for understanding their background and true cause.”

The meeting in London will coincide with vertex in Moscow between Mr. Putin and Xi Jinping, President of China, where the Russian leader is expected to demand more support for his war in Ukraine.

Mr. Putin’s trip to Mariupol, where he visited the occupied territory for the first time, ended the weekend with surprise visits to annexed Ukraine, including Crimea seized in 2014.

Arriving in Mariupol in an army helicopter, Putin personally went to meet the weeping residents of the reconstructed house, who thanked him for the new “piece of paradise.”

Approximately 22,000 people died during the Russian bombing of Mariupol last year. Thousands of children have also been abducted by Kremlin forces and sent to Russia for indoctrination, for which the ICC put Mr. Putin on a wanted list on Friday.

“The criminal always returns to the scene of the crime,” Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief adviser Mikhail Podolyak said after Putin’s visit. “The killer of thousands of Mariupol families has come to admire the ruins of the city and the graves.”

The meeting will take place when justice ministers and ICC prosecutors from 40 countries meet in London to bring Putin to justice.

The story goes on

Dominic Raab, Deputy Prime Minister, will join Justice Ministers from around the world at Lancaster House for a meeting on war crimes with Karim Khan KC, ICC chief prosecutor leading Putin’s investigation.

Mr Raab writes in the Daily Telegraph today: “We pay attention to all those who commit atrocities. One day you will stand trial for the crimes committed against the Ukrainian people.”

Mr. Raab said that the Lancaster House ministers are “united in one goal to bring war criminals to justice for the atrocities committed in Ukraine.”

“The criminal always returns to the crime scene,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s top adviser Mykhailo Podolyak. “The killer of thousands of Mariupol families came to admire the ruins of the city and the graves.”

Mr Putin, who makes limited trips outside of Moscow, has toured Mariupol’s “memorial sites”, the concert hall and the coast, according to Russian state media.

One resident, who was filmed sobbing on arrival, told Putin she now “owns a piece of paradise” after the leader asked her if she liked her new apartment.

“Wow, we’ve only seen you on TV,” one person said after shaking Putin’s hand in what was probably a carefully staged performance.

Russian security forces in civilian clothes with microphones circled around Putin, occasionally whispering something in the ear of a resident or suggesting where to stand.

“We need to get to know each other better,” Putin told the beaming residents.

The trip comes ahead of Xi’s planned visit to Moscow this week, which is expected to provide a major diplomatic boost to Putin. in his confrontation with the West.

A one-on-one meeting between the two leaders is scheduled for Monday, followed by an “informal lunch” and more formal talks on Tuesday.

China said Friday it wants “play a constructive role in advancing the peace talks”. Beijing, a major Russian ally, has long sought to pose as a neutral side in the conflict.

The Kremlin also published an article written by Putin for a Chinese newspaper praising their relationship and blaming the West for increasing global instability.

In a sign that Mr. Putin is desperate to please China before the summit, he said: “We are grateful for China’s balanced position on the events taking place in Ukraine, for understanding their background and true reasons.”

In March and April last year, the Russian military razed Mariupol, once a bustling port city of 400,000, and in one of the worst crimes of the war, dropped bombs on a theater where hundreds of women and children were hiding. Most were killed.

Despite the destruction and thousands of civilians killed, the Kremlin was keen to present the capture of Mariupol as a success story. He quickly patched up and painted the main streets that ran through the city. and also promised to build new housing.

Mr. Putin has been criticized for rarely leaving the Kremlin, but he appears determined to change that over the weekend with a series of surprise visits.

On Saturday, he traveled to occupied Crimea to visit a children’s education center before flying by helicopter to Mariupol and then to Rostov in Russia, where he received a battlefield briefing from his top military command.

Russian observers described Putin’s visit to Mariupol as a bold and smart move that eluded Western intelligence.

“Putin drove through Mariupol unguarded in order to deceive NATO intelligence as much as possible,” said Sergei Markov, a former adviser to the Russian president. “Putin came to Mariupol not as a statesman, but as a private individual.”

Russian military bloggers also claimed that Putin traveled around Mariupol to elude Western intelligence. In the car with Mr. Putin was Marat Khusnullin, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, who briefed the Russian leader on the restoration work while driving.

In the last few weeks, Mr. Putin has appeared much more energetic.

Kremlin-linked commentators said he is in a much better moodjoke and laugh.

Six months ago, the Russian army in Ukraine was on the verge of collapse, and Mr. Putin was shunned as a pariah even by other authoritarian leaders. Now, however, the Russian army has stabilized its front line, and on Monday, at the start of two days of talks, he will host Xi.

Russian media are boasting about Xi Jinping’s first trip to the Kremlin since 2019. In a Sunday article, the popular Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper called it a clear “Chinese gesture of support for Moscow.”

Also on Sunday, the British Ministry of Defense said the decision by Russian troops, which occupied Ukraine’s Zaporozhye region this month, to rename Melitopol as the regional capital shows they have abandoned their plans. attempt to capture the city of Zaporozhye.

“We warn all who commit atrocities”

Dominic Raab

Twenty years ago I stuffed my teeth working as a war crimes lawyer for the British government in The Hague. So I’ve seen firsthand the impact of the International Criminal Court and the Special War Crimes Tribunals in bringing to justice those who commit the most heinous atrocities in the world.

Take Radovan Karadic, a Bosnian butcher, and Charles Taylor, a military leader turned president of Liberia. Both with innocent blood on their hands, both behind bars in British prisons, courtesy of the war crimes court in The Hague.

As we enter the second year of President Putin’s devastating war in Ukraine, the ICC matters more than ever.

On Friday, a court issued arrest warrants for President Putin and his head of children’s rights in connection with the alleged kidnapping of hundreds of Ukrainian children, forcibly taken from their parents and deported to Russia. This is a significant step forward in accountability and shows that the international justice system is working.

Britain has been a firm supporter of Ukraine from the very beginning. Firstly, through military assistance, as the first country to send tanks into battle, and assistance in training pilots and marines of Ukraine.

Secondly, through sanctions. We have frozen more than £18bn of Russian assets belonging to more than 1,300 individuals and entities, halting funding for Putin’s war machine.

Third, through humanitarian support, including hosting more than 150,000 Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russian brutality.

And fourth, through the accountability element of our international strategy.

That is why today we are hosting a justice ministers’ summit where 42 like-minded countries will agree to support the ICC and its independent investigation into the atrocities in Ukraine.

We have all seen terrible events on our television screens. Massacre in Bucha with a mass grave filled with innocent civilians. The Mariupol maternity hospital was blown up, newborn children and their mothers were inside. Recent disturbing footage of the execution of a Ukrainian prisoner of war. Such atrocities cannot go unpunished.

With the support of 43 countries, last year the UK spearheaded the largest state transfer in the history of the ICC. This meant that the court could speed up the investigation into the atrocities in Ukraine, bringing justice one step closer to the Ukrainian people.

And, together with the European Union and the United States, we support domestic investigations in Ukraine with funding and expertise, training prosecutors and judges who oversee war crimes trials.

The ICC has reached out to us for help in other vital areas, including digital forensics and support for child and sex crime victims.

So today we are pledging £395,000 in additional funding for psychological support for vulnerable witnesses. This brings the total UK support to the ICC this year to £1 million. This is on top of our annual fee and an additional £1 million last year.

We are funding two experienced UK investigators to work directly with the ICC for a year and will bring their experience in an open source investigation to help the court analyze an unprecedented amount of online evidence.

And we will offer training for ICC investigators, as well as a team of experts – from clinicians to criminal justice professionals – on hand to strengthen the court’s support for victims.

But this is team work. We cannot do this on our own. That’s why we’ve brought together 42 countries today, each with their own experiences to share and play their part.

This is global Britain in action as a force for good in the world. Encouragement to action by other countries united by the ICC and determined to bring war criminals to justice.

One year after Russia’s illegal invasion, we must remain steadfast in our support for the people of Ukraine, the principles of democracy and the international rule of law.

The efforts of the international community today will strengthen the ICC in its role as the independent prosecution of war crimes. So that any aggressor anywhere in the world knows that there can be no impunity for those who commit such heinous acts.

We warn all who commit atrocities. One day you will stand trial for the crimes committed against the Ukrainian people.