Bosnian state prosecutors on Wednesday ordered the arrest of Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik and his aides for ignoring a court summons, a move which Dodik pledged to resist with help from Russia in a widening standoff over the fragile country.

Bosnian prosecutors have ordered the detention of three top Bosnian Serb officials over a series of separatist actions in recent weeks that have heightened tensions in the Balkan country

Bosnian Serbs passed the disputed laws after a Bosnian court convicted Milorad Dodik, the pro-Russia president of the Serb-run entity in Bosnia called Republika Srpska. Dodik was sentenced last month in absentia to a year in prison and a six-year ban from public office for his separatist moves.