Putin to skip South Africa BRICS summit due to ICC arrest warrant

Putin will not attend the BRICS summit in South Africa next month to avoid potential arrest under an ICC warrant accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine.
Russia and South Africa mutually agreed Putin should not attend to prevent a diplomatic crisis over the arrest warrant.
South Africa warned that arresting Putin could be seen by Russia as a declaration of war.
Russia will instead be represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the summit of BRICS nations.
The ICC has charged Putin with involvement in illegally deporting Ukrainian children to Russia.