On 20–22 March 2023, Chinese president Xi Jinping visited Russia and met with Vladimir Putin both in official and unofficial capacity. It was the first international meeting of Vladimir Putin since the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest. thumb|Putin welcomes Chinese president Xi Jinping to Moscow, 21 March 2023. In May 2023, South Africa announced that it would grant diplomatic immunity to Vladimir Putin to attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg despite the ICC arrest warrant. In July 2023, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa announced that Putin would not attend the summit "by mutual agreement" and would instead send Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. thumb|Putin with South African president Cyril Ramaphosa in St. Petersburg on 17 June 2023 In July 2023, Putin threatened to take "reciprocal action" if Ukraine used US-supplied cluster munitions during a Ukrainian counter-offensive against Russian forces in occupied southeastern Ukraine. On 17 July 2023, Putin withdrew from a deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain across the Black Sea despite a wartime blockade, risking deepening the global food crisis and antagonizing neutral countries in the Global South.
On 20–22 March 2023 Chinese president Xi Jinping visited Russia and met with Vladimir Putin both in official and unofficial capacity. It was the first international meeting of Vladimir Putin since the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest thumb|Putin welcomes Chinese president Xi Jinping to Moscow, 21 March 2023. In May 2023, South Africa announced that it would grant diplomatic immunity to Vladimir Putin to attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg despite the ICC arrest warrant In July 2023, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa announced that Putin would not attend the summit "by mutual agreement" and would instead send Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. thumb|Putin with South African president Cyril Ramaphosa in St. Petersburg on 17 June 2023 In July 2023, Putin threatened to take "reciprocal action" if Ukraine used US-supplied cluster munitions during a Ukrainian counter-offensive against Russian forces in occupied southeastern Ukraine. On 17 July 2023, Putin withdrew from a deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain across the Black Sea despite a wartime blockade, risking deepening the global food crisis and antagonizing neutral countries in the Global South.