Earlier, on Saturday, Putin traveled to Crimea, to mark the ninth anniversary of the Black Sea peninsula’s annexation from Ukraine.
Under Russian President Vladimir Putin, the May 9 event has grown in scale and political prominence
Responsibility is difficult to prove conclusively in a war zone
An array of international judicial institutions have jurisdiction over abuses that Putin’s military is accused of carrying out in Ukraine. But they differ in how their rulings are enforced.
Presidential outbursts have been a pattern through the long night of the Cold War
Russia has seen an exodus of political activists, journalists, celebrities and entrepreneurs critical of the war or fearing its consequences.
President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian nuclear forces on alert amid tensions with the West over his invasion of Ukraine.
“We are always ready for diplomacy. We are also ready to impose swift and severe consequences should Russia instead choose war.”
Tensions remain sky-high over the situation along Ukraine’s borders, where the U.S. says a buildup of Russian forces and equipment has now reached a point where an attack could begin this week.
The two leaders spoke by phone for roughly an hour.
