Russia's Putin arrives in ICC member Mongolia

ULAANBAATAR — Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Mongolia on Monday, his first visit to a member state of the International Criminal Court (ICC) since it issued an arrest warrant for him last year.

Putin was welcomed by a guard of honour as he landed in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar for the high-profile trip, seen as a show of defiance against the court, Kyiv, the West and rights groups that have all called for him to be detained.

The Russian leader is wanted by the Hague-based court for the alleged illegal deportation of Ukrainian children since his troops invaded the country in 2022.

Ukraine has reacted to the trip with fury.

On Monday it accused Mongolia of "sharing responsibility" for Putin's "war crimes" after authorities did not detain him at the airport.

Kyiv had urged Mongolia to execute the arrest warrant, while the ICC said last week all its members had an "obligation" to detain those sought by the court.

In practice there is little that can be done if Ulaanbaatar does not comply.

The Kremlin said last week it was not concerned that Putin would be arrested.

Sandwiched between Russia and China, Mongolia was under Moscow's sway during the Soviet era.

Since the Soviet collapse in 1991, it has sought to keep friendly relations with both the Kremlin and Beijing.

The country has not condemned Russia's offensive in Ukraine and has abstained during votes on the conflict at the United Nations.