Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has forwarded a note of protest to the Russian Foreign Ministry over the visit of a Russian delegation led by President Vladimir Putin to Crimea.
“The Ukrainian side views the above-mentioned visit [on June 24] and other so-called trips of Russian officials to the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as a blatant violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s press service said in a statement circulated on Saturday.
Kiev believes that the Russian president’s visit to Crimea should have been approved by Ukrainian relevant agencies.
“A note of protest has been submitted to the Russian Foreign Ministry,” it said.
Earlier on Saturday, Putin alongside Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets, his aide Andrei Fursenko and Crimea’s top officials visited the international youth center Artek. Putin was shown around the children’s holiday camps, their infrastructure. Also, he met with children holidaying in Artek – some were from the United States and Donbass – and wished them a strong friendship and new knowledge.