MOSCOW — The Russian news agency RIA Novosti says American actor and musician Steven Seagal has performed at a concert in the breakaway region of Crimea on a stage decorated with the flag of pro-Russian separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Seagal, who knows Russian President Vladimir Putin, performed with his blues band Saturday night in the Black Sea port city of Sevastopol at a concert organized by a motorcycle gang of Russian nationalists known as the Night Wolves.

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Actor Steven Seagal, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin watch a mixed martial arts championship in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, in August 2012. Seagal reportedly performed Saturday at a concert in the breakaway region of Crimea on a stage decorated with the flag of pro-Russian separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine. The Associated Press/RIA Novosti

Russia annexed the Ukrainian region in March.

RIA Novosti reported that Seagal was handed a shirt with Putin’s face on it, which he held aloft as he thanked the crowd.