Russia talks about ICC's arrest of Putin, accuses Ukraine of using UAVs to attack offices

According to RT, in an interview with Serbia's ATV news agency on May 10, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov received a question about the ICC's accusations against President Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Ivova-Belova.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Sputnik

Mr Peskov responded that the ICC's arrest warrant meant the international court believed there might be countries ready to act on the warrant "if the opportunity arose".

“But I can hardly imagine anyone daring to act on orders against the Russian president,” Mr. Peskov said, noting that Russia is “one of the largest countries in the world and also one of the strongest nuclear powers.”

The spokesman added that Russia is not a signatory to the Rome Statute and does not recognize the ICC. “In the current circumstances, we consider that court to be a de facto puppet of the West, which is being used to exert pressure on our country. They will not succeed,” Mr. Peskov stressed.

Russian border governor accuses Ukraine of using UAVs to attack government buildings

Aleksandr Bogomaz, governor of Russia's Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, said that a Kiev drone attacked a local government building early this morning (May 11). The information was released shortly after Russian authorities reported a separate attack by a "hostile" UAV on Belgorod, another border region of the country.

RT quoted Mr. Bogomaz as saying that the incident happened in Starodub, a town of about 17,000 residents, but fortunately no one was injured. According to the Baza channel on Telegram, the building that was attacked was a military registration office.

Photo posted by Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov of the wreckage of a "hostile" UAV shot down in the border region of Belgorod, Russia. Photo: RT

Earlier, Vyacheslav Gladkov, Governor of Belgorod, wrote on Telegram on the evening of May 10 that two UAVs exploded above a residential area in the area, damaging two houses and a car. An hour later, Mr. Gladkov announced that local air defense forces had shot down a third UAV.

Moscow has accused Kiev forces of repeatedly shelling and using drones to attack Russian border regions since the start of its special military operation in Ukraine. However, Kiev has almost never publicly accepted responsibility for attacks inside Russia or in Ukrainian territories under the control of Russian forces.