Vladimir Putin presents Friendship Award to Steven Seagal

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday presented a state decoration to Steven Seagal, the American action movie actor who also holds Russian citizenship.

The awarding of the Order of Friendship was announced on the Internet portal of the Russian government. The order rewards people whom Russia considers to have contributed to the improvement of international relations.

Seagal was a staunch supporter of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and visited the Russian-held Ukrainian town of Olenivka last year, where dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war are believed to have been killed in an attack for which Russia and Ukraine mutually blamed each other.

Seagal was appointed in 2018 as the Russian Foreign Ministry’s humanitarian envoy to the United States and Japan.