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Putin in Ulaanbaatar: a visit despite the ICC warrant
Summary
A look back at the visit that drew appeals from Kyiv and the European Union, set against a turbulent week of war news.
What happens when a leader wanted by the International Criminal Court travels to a member state of that court? On 2 September 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Mongolia, and the question was put to the test.
According to reports at the time, Putin went to Ulaanbaatar to discuss a China–Russia gas pipeline, a project meant to recoup some of the losses Russia had suffered from Western sanctions. Ukraine and the European Union had urged Mongolia to arrest him under the ICC warrant. He arrived regardless.
Kyiv's appeal
The appeal from Kyiv had been public for days. On 30 August 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Mongolia to detain Putin as he travelled to the country. The trip was Putin's first to an ICC member state since the warrant was issued, which gave the visit its particular weight.
A week of other pressures
The Mongolian trip came amid a run of other developments in the war. On 27 August 2024, Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine had successfully tested a domestically produced ballistic missile for the first time. The same day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned the United States and other NATO members against allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike targets in Russia.
Zelenskyy also said on 27 August that Poland would cooperate with Ukraine on returning Ukrainians who had crossed the Polish border illegally to avoid conscription. He described them as people who had violated the law, as well as traitors and collaborators.
On 30 August 2024, Zelenskyy dismissed Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, after an F-16 fighter jet crashed and its pilot died while defending against Russian strikes.
What the day showed
Taken together, the reports from late August and 2 September 2024 show a war fought on several fronts at once: in the air, in diplomacy, in domestic manpower policy and in the argument over what weapons Ukraine could use. The Mongolian visit was the diplomatic strand. Kyiv and the EU had asked for an arrest; Putin's arrival on 2 September 2024 went ahead with his agenda centred on the gas pipeline.
