REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
Russia’s Vladimir Putin is avoiding taking any trips out of the country because he no longer feels safe following repeated Ukrainian drone attacks and an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, according to several new reports.
On Wednesday, Russian state media reported that Putin will not be attending Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s inauguration, sending State Duma chairman Vyacheslav Volodin instead.
Nor will Putin be attending an upcoming summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in India that was initially meant to be in-person. Organizers of that summit on Tuesday announced that the format would be switched to virtual, with The Hindu reporting that “scheduling difficulties” were behind the change. The decision also may have been motivated by Putin’s presence threatening to “cast a shadow” over the event, according to the publication.