Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived on Monday in Mongolia, a member state of the international court that has issued an arrest warrant against him.
This will be Putin's first visit to a member state of the International Criminal Court (ICC) since the court issued an arrest warrant for him in March 2023.
Ukraine has called on Mongolia to arrest Putin and hand him over to the ICC. Last week, a Russian presidential spokesman said the Kremlin was not worried about the president's visit.
ICC member states are obligated to detain suspects for whom arrest warrants have been issued, but have no enforcement mechanism. The Associated Press reported.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant more than a year ago on charges of war crimes and the illegal transfer of children from Ukraine to Russia.
This was primarily seen as a way for the international community to hold Putin responsible for the Russia-Ukraine war that began in February 2022.
Putin is due to meet Mongolian leader Ukhna Khurelsukh on Tuesday and attend a ceremony marking the 1939 victory of Soviet and Mongolian forces over Japanese forces.
According to the Associated Press, Mongolia is heavily dependent on Russia and China for resources.
Putin visited North Korea in June, where he thanked Kim Jong Un for his country's support in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and vowed to fight U.S.-led sanctions through a new partnership.
He also visited Vietnam and China since the start of the European war.
Russia launched a barrage of drone and missile attacks on Ukraine overnight early Monday as Kiev continued its offensive against Russia's Kursk region.
Putin said Monday that Operation Kursk would not stop his troops from advancing into eastern Ukraine, where they have withdrawn more than 30,000 troops elsewhere to defend the region. He predicted the operation would fail and that Ukraine would want to “move towards peace talks.”
The Associated Press contributed.
