Vladimir Putin dived to the bottom of the Black Sea to explore an ancient shipwreck off Crimea, in a stunt aimed at cementing his image as adventurer and control of the annexed territory.
The Russian President's 83m dive in a mini-submarine was the latest in a long line of adventurous stunts where he has tranquillised wild tigers and flown with endangered cranes.
Yesterday's mission was part of a Russian Geographic Society expedition researching Crimea's ancient trade route. Such research is important "in order to understand the development of ancient Rus's relations with its neighbours, as well as the development of Russian statehood", Putin said.


Vladimir Putin on board a bathyscaphe as it plunges into the Black sea along the coast of Sevastopol, Crimea. Photo / AP
He said the 9th or 10th century Byzantine trading ship, which was discovered near Balaklava earlier this year, appeared to be well preserved along with dozens of artefacts including a large quantity of amphorae.
It was Putin's third visit to the Crimean Peninsula since he annexed it in March 2014. He was accompanied by Sergei Shoigu, his Defence Minister and the head of the Russian Geographic Society, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, and Sergey Ivanov, his chief of staff.
Petro Poroshenko, the Ukrainian President, earlier said Putin should have arranged his visit to the disputed peninsula with Kiev.
"I won't comment on that because the future of Crimea was decided by people who live here. They voted for unification with Russia. Full stop," Putin said when asked about Poroshenko's comments.