Ukraine updates: German call for Russia to honor grain deal
Germany’s Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir demanded that Russia “must live up to the commitment” it made to allow grain to leave Ukrainian ports, stressing on how Ukraine and other countries depend on it.
“Ukrainian grain must arrive where it is needed – namely in the countries of the Global South,” Özdemir told the German news website t-online. He said the income from selling the grain was also vital for Ukraine’s survival as the war against Russia’s invasion goes on since February of 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was again using the grain dealto try to destabilize the region and end West-imposed sanctions, Özdemir said in the interview published on Thursday.
“The fact that Russia wants to let the agreement expire already in mid-May — 60 days before the actual agreed deadline — in violation of the agreement is simply irresponsible. Putin is accepting the loss of human life for his criminal war of aggression.”
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Russia had blocked Ukraine’s Black Sea ports for months when the war began, preventing the export of grain and prompting fears of soaring prices or famine in some areas as Ukraine is one of the largest suppliers of grain worldwide. The UN and Turkey then brokered an end to the blockade by establishing the grain agreement, freeing millions of tons of grain and other foods.
Here are some of the other headlines concerning Russia’s war in Ukraine on Wednesday, April 27:
One killed, several injured in Mykolaiv
One person was killed while 23 people — including a child — were wounded in a Russian missile strike on an apartment block in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, Ukrianian officials said.
“At night, Russia bombarded Mykolaiv with four Kalibr missiles launched from the Black Sea,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the Telegram app. “The high-precision weapons were aimed at private houses, a historic building, and a high-rise building.”
Zelenskyy posted a video which showed badly damaged buildings with smashed windows and smoke rising above the roofs.
Russia has denied deliberately targeting civilians and housing areas since it invaded Ukraine.
Mykolaiv is a shipbuilding centrer and port, which had a population of about 470,000 people before the war started.
Ukraine PM set to visit Vatican
Pope Francis is set to host Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Thursday morning at 9 a.m. at the Vatican.
The two last met in a private audience in early 2021 before Russia’s full-scale invasion. Since the escalation, Pope Francis has repeatedly called for fighting to end and for prayers for people in Ukraine. However, he has been less critical of Russian leadership than the Ukrainian government believe would be appropriate, despite some speeches that were somewhat critical.
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mk/msh (dpa, Reuters)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-updates-german-call-for-russia-to-honor-grain-deal/a-65447438?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf