Moscow is trying to curry favor at this week’s BRICS summit in Johannesburg, which Russian President Vladimir Putin — whom South Africa would be obligated to arrest because of an International Criminal Court warrant is not attending in person. In a prerecorded video, Putin said Russia could replace Ukraine as a global grain supplier and bucked international criticism for pulling out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The U.N.-backed deal allowed Ukraine to safely export grain by ship and was credited with alleviating a global food crisis.