Ukraine war: NATO 'trying to destroy' Russia, ICC judge arrest warrant, Black Sea drone attack

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday condemned Russia over an arrest warrant for one of its judges. 

The Hague called the move "another attempt to undermine the international mandate of the court", which recently issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

Russian news agency TASS reported last week that ICC judge Tomoko Akane was subject to an arrest warrant in Russia. 

It specified she was wanted for violating the Russian Criminal Code, without specifying the nature of the offence.

Judge Tomoko Akane is one of the judges who issued arrest warrants on March 17 for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights.

Both are charged with war crimes for the "unlawful deportation" of thousands of Ukrainian children since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 - charges Moscow has dismissed.

Russia's President will not participate in a BRICS summit at the end of August in Johannesburg, since ICC member South Africa is theoretically supposed to arrest Putin if he enters its territory.

The Russian army said on Tuesday it thwarted an attack by three Ukrainian drones against its Black Sea patrol boats. 

The overnight strike comes amid heightened tensions between Kyiv and Moscow in the area, following Russia's withdrawal from the grain deal in July.

All of the naval drones were downed by Russian ships some 340 km southwest of Sevastopol, according to Russia's Ministry of Defence.

Naval drones are remote-controlled boats that operate on the surface of the water. Moscow regularly accuses the Ukrainian army of using them to attack targets in the Black Sea.

In July, Ukraine attacked the Kerch Bridge, a vital artery linking Russia to the annexed Crimean