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UN chief calls for grain deal to be renewed for global ‘food security’
The UN secretary general has urged Russia and Ukraine to renew the deal that has seen more than 8m tonnes of grain exported from Ukraine and brought down global food prices.
Antonio Guterres also called for other countries, mainly in the west, to expedite the removal of obstacles blocking Russian grain and fertiliser exports, Agence France-Presse reported.
The UN chief’s spokesman said on Friday that Guterres underlined the urgency of renewing the deal so as “to contribute to food security across the world”.
The agreement between Ukraine and Russia – major suppliers of grain around the globe – was brokered by the UN and Turkey in July and is due to expire on 19 November.
Russia’s UN ambassador said on Wednesday that before Moscow discussed a renewal, “Russia needs to see the export of its grain and fertilisers in the world market, which has never happened since the beginning of the deal”.
He said the hurdles facing Russia’s exports include getting insurance for vessels, conducting financial transactions, finding ports of call for Russian ships, and freeing up fertiliser on ships detained at European ports.
Guterres has said the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports from three Black Sea ports “has significantly contributed to lower prices of wheat and other commodities”.
Key events
Russia has declared Natayia Sindeyeva, the head of the independent TV channel Dozhd, a “foreign agent” along with two journalist colleagues, in the latest crackdown on civil society.
Agence France-Press reported that the names of Natalia Sindeeva, Vladimir Romensky and Ekaterina Kotrikadze appeared on the latest Russian justice ministry list of “foreign agents”.
They had been added because of their “political activities”, the ministry said.
TV Dozhd was launched in 2008 and covered Russia’s opposition and protest movements, and last year the channel itself was labelled a “foreign agent”.
All main independent media outlets in Russia, including radio station Echo of Moscow and Dozhd TV, have been shut down or have suspended their operations in the country.
Dozhd wound up its Russia operations and suspended broadcasting from Russia with an emotional show on 3 March, less than a fortnight after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The channel resumed broadcasting in 18 July from studios in neighbouring Latvia.
UN chief calls for grain deal to be renewed for global ‘food security’
The UN secretary general has urged Russia and Ukraine to renew the deal that has seen more than 8m tonnes of grain exported from Ukraine and brought down global food prices.
Antonio Guterres also called for other countries, mainly in the west, to expedite the removal of obstacles blocking Russian grain and fertiliser exports, Agence France-Presse reported.
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The UN chief’s spokesman said on Friday that Guterres underlined the urgency of renewing the deal so as “to contribute to food security across the world”.
The agreement between Ukraine and Russia – major suppliers of grain around the globe – was brokered by the UN and Turkey in July and is due to expire on 19 November.
Russia’s UN ambassador said on Wednesday that before Moscow discussed a renewal, “Russia needs to see the export of its grain and fertilisers in the world market, which has never happened since the beginning of the deal”.
He said the hurdles facing Russia’s exports include getting insurance for vessels, conducting financial transactions, finding ports of call for Russian ships, and freeing up fertiliser on ships detained at European ports.
Guterres has said the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports from three Black Sea ports “has significantly contributed to lower prices of wheat and other commodities”.
Summary
Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s ongoing live coverage of the war in Ukraine. It is approaching 9.30am in Kyiv. Here’s a brief rundown on the latest developments.
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Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, has said the partial mobilisation of reservists announced in September “has been completed” and “no further measures are planned”. Speaking at a meeting with Vladimir Putin broadcast on state television, Shoigu said 82,000 mobilised recruits were in the conflict zone and a further 218,000 in training in barracks. His statement reflects what the west called a desperate effort to halt Kyiv’s counteroffensive with poorly trained troops.
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About 4 million people across Ukraine are being hit by power cuts from rolling blackouts due to Russia’s bombing campaign, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said. Agence Frence-Presse quoted energy company DTEK, the operator for the Kyiv region, as saying it would have to introduce “unprecedented” power cuts to prevent a complete blackout.
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Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said he had received a phone call from his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, on Friday and had demanded Tehran stop sending weapons to Russia. Ukraine and western allies accuse Iran of sending “kamikaze” drones to Russia that have been used to devastating effect against Ukrainian infrastructure. Iran denies the charge.
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At least four people were killed and 10 wounded when several towns neighbouring the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia power plant were hit by shelling, a statement from the Ukrainian presidential office said.
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The Russian defence ministry said its forces had repelled attempted Ukrainian advances in the east and had destroyed a Ukrainian military factory near the town of Pavlograd.
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The US will provide $275m in additional military assistance to Ukraine, including arms, munitions and equipment from US defence department inventories, the secretary of state has said. “We are also working to provide Ukraine with the air defence capabilities it needs with the two initial US-provided Nasams ready for delivery to Ukraine next month,” Antony Blinken said. “And we are working with allies and partners to enable delivery of their own air defence systems to Ukraine.”
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Assets belonging to Russian and Belarusian individuals seized by Ukraine could be used for the huge postwar reconstruction effort, the Ukrainian finance minister, Serhiy Marchenko, has been quoted as saying. The government has frozen Russian and Belarusian assets in Ukraine worth about 44 billion hryvnias ($1.21bn) since the start of Moscow’s invasion, according to the Economic Security Bureau, a state agency.
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The European Union has appointed a Polish general, Piotr Trytek, to lead a new training operation with Ukrainian troops. Trytek, 51, was chosen as part of the EU’s pledge to step up military support for Ukraine.
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Vladimir Putin’s first deputy chief of staff has visited the Russian-held Ukrainian city of Kherson. Sergei Kiriyenko stopped at a ferry port where hundreds of people were being removed by order of Russian authorities.
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A Russian official’s threat to strike western satellites aiding Ukraine has raised concerns among space lawyers and industry executives about the safety of objects in orbit. No country has carried out a missile strike against an enemy’s satellite.
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UN nuclear inspectors are expected to reach a conclusion soon on Russia’s claims of the possible production of a “dirty bomb”. Investigators are being sent to two locations in Ukraine where Russia alleged the activities were taking place.
