Any attempt to arrest
Vladimir Putin would be a declaration of war against
Russia , the president’s ally Dmitry Medvedev said after the International Criminal Court (ICC) put out a warrant for the
Russian leader over alleged war crimes. Mr Putin stands accused of bearing personal responsibility for the illegal deportation of hundreds of children from
Ukraine . Speaking to Russian media, Mr Medvedev, a former president, said the ICC , which countries including Russia,
China and the
United States do not recognise, was a “legal nonentity” that had never done anything significant. On an attempt to arrest Mr Putin, he said: “What would that be? It would be a declaration of war on the Russian Federation.” Earlier Mr Medvedev said the threat of nuclear conflict was rising and the constant arms supply to Ukraine is bringing a “nuclear apocalypse” closer. Russia has accused
Britain of driving the stakes of nuclear war after the Ministry of Defence revealed it was sending Ukraine missiles tipped with depleted uranium – a common, if not uncontroversial, type of munitions.