Ukrainian troops are engaged in fierce street fighting with Russian soldiers in the industrial city of Sievierodonetsk, in a pivotal battle for control of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. "In the city, fierce street fighting continues," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Monday.
Elsewhere, European Council President Charles Michel accused Russia of using food supplies as “a stealth missile against developing countries”, prompting Moscow's UN ambassador to storm out of the Security Council meeting.
Follow our live blog below for developments on Tuesday.
Amid a worsening global food crisis, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there are "credible reports" that Russia is "pilfering" Ukraine's grain exports to sell for profit.
Blinken said the alleged theft was part of broader Russian actions during its war in Ukraine that have hit Ukraine's ability to export its wheat crop.
Prices for grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertiliser have soared since the Feb. 24 invasion.
Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of global wheat supplies, while Russia is also a fertiliser exporter and Ukraine is an exporter of corn and sunflower oil.
(Reuters)
Fighting has continued into Tuesday in Sievierodonetsk, a key city in eastern Ukraine that has been subjected to a deluge of Russian fire and where the situation is changing "hour by hour," according to Kyiv.
"Our heroes are holding their positions in Sievierodonetsk. Intense street fighting continues," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Monday evening.
"In the Donetsk region, in addition to artillery fire, the enemy fires from planes and helicopters," said the Ukrainian army general staff on Tuesday morning, confirming
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