Vladimir Putin attends BRICS summit virtually to avoid war crimes arrest

Vladimir Putin has addressed a summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies virtually to avoid an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for his arrest for war crimes. The Russian president gave a 17-minute prerecorded speech as the bloc, named after its member states Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, opened its first in-person meeting since before the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. Mr Putin is wanted by the ICC over the abduction of children from Ukraine. Ukraine war – latest: Putin hits out at West in major speech Image: Pic: AP The Russian leader criticised the impact of…