BRICS leaders held their annual summit in Rio de Janeiro on July 6, during which they issued a joint declaration condemning recent attacks on Russia’s railway infrastructure. The attacks, which targeted civilians in Bryansk, Kursk, and Voronezh regions, were described as deliberate and resulted in several civilian deaths, including children. The joint declaration issued by BRICS leaders emphasized their strongest possible condemnation of these attacks, but did not call for Russia to halt its military operations in Ukraine. Instead, the statement called for a negotiated peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, recalling their national positions on the conflict in Ukraine as expressed in the UN Security Council and General Assembly. The BRICS leaders also criticized U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites, calling them violations of international law and urging the withdrawal of foreign forces from Syria and Gaza. The statement comes a few days after a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which Putin stated that Russia would continue its war efforts in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attended the summit in person, while Putin participated via video link. Brazil, a member of the International Criminal Court and signatory to the Rome Statute, is obliged to arrest Putin if he enters the country. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023 over the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The BRICS declaration also condemned recent U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities as violations of international law and criticized the presence of foreign forces in Syria and Gaza, calling for Israeli withdrawal from Syrian territory. BRICS, originally composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has expanded in recent years to include Iran, Egypt, the UAE, Ethiopia, and Indonesia. The summit marked the continuation of BRICS efforts to address global conflicts and maintain international order, while avoiding direct intervention in Russia’s military campaign against Ukraine, instead focusing on condemnation of attacks on Russian infrastructure and calls for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.