Putin, 70, was seen limping as he made a surprise visit to Crimea

Vladimir Putin was seen limping during a surprise visit to Crimea amid allegations he had health problems, a day after an arrest warrant was issued for the Russian leader.

Russian media said the 70-year-old defied the West and reached the annexed Crimea today.

Footage appeared to show Putin in the seaport of Sevastopol, which has been targeted by repeated Ukrainian strikes in recent months.

His arrival came one day after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him on charges of war crimes.

Today marks the ninth anniversary of its illegal annexation of Crimea.

Putin was seen accompanied by his handler Mikhail Razvozayev, the governor of occupied Sevastopol, surrounded by six bodyguards apparently wearing bulletproof vests.

The 70-year-old leader appeared uncomfortable when he walked in contrast to what appeared earlier this week in Moscow and the Siberian city of Ulan-Ude.

Apparently, he arrived at the port – the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet – in a black Toyota Land Cruiser.

“Our President Vladimir Putin knows how to surprise in a good way,” said the governor.

The ruler, who is not recognized by the West, said he was due to appear in a video conference but turned up unexpectedly on the disputed peninsula.

Vladimir Vladimirovich himself came, driving.

Because on such a historic day, the president is always with Sevastopol and Sevastopol residents. Our country has an incredible leader.

Also with him was the Orthodox Bishop Tikhon Shevkunov, Putin’s personal confessor who likened the dictator to Tsar Peter the Great.

Putin was seen close to other people in Sevastopol, in contrast to other appearances – notably on Friday – when he addressed oligarchs and businessmen from a distance.

The trip came amid allegations in some quarters that Putin had health problems and used body doubles – doppelgängers – in some appearances during the war he launched a year ago in Ukraine.

Putin was seen visiting the Korsun Children’s Center in Sevastopol.

This is his first visit to the annexed peninsula in three years.

Yesterday, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin amid accusations he committed war crimes during his faltering invasion of Ukraine.

Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, said hundreds of children were illegally removed from orphanages and children’s homes in occupied regions of Ukraine and taken to Russia to be given new families.

Putin became only the third president against whom an arrest warrant was issued by the International Criminal Court, after Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi, and the first leader of one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court now obliges its 123 member states to arrest the Russian president and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their soil.

But today the Kremlin has slammed the court’s decision as “outrageous and unacceptable,” insisting instead that any ICC decisions are “null and void” with respect to Russia because Moscow does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction.