Ukraine

The United Nations says a senior UN official had "constructive discussions" in Moscow on facilitating Russian grain and fertilizer exports to global markets after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Russia of "playing hunger games" with the world by blocking Ukrainian food exports.

Investigators probing allegations of war crimes in the Ukraine conflict must work closely together and in compliance with international standards of forensic best practice, the UN expert on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions said on Monday. 

The UN General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly for the Czech Republic to replace Russia on the Human Rights Council, the world organization’s leading human rights body. The vote was 157 countries in favor and 23 abstentions.

French President Emmanuel Macron says it could take several years for Ukraine to formally join the European Union and proposed the creation of a new political organization for European countries that share common values.

Nearly 25 million tonnes of grains are stuck in Ukraine and unable to leave the country due to infrastructure challenges and blocked Black Sea ports including Mariupol, a UN food agency official said on Friday. The blockages are seen as a factor behind high food prices which hit a record high in March in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, before easing slightly in April.

Humanitarian needs continue to rise in war-torn Ukraine where an estimated 7.7 million people are now internally displaced, UN emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths said on Thursday. Mr. Griffiths was addressing the International Donor Conference for Ukraine in Warsaw. Co-hosted by Poland and Sweden, in cooperation with the Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council. The conference raised a reported $6.5 billion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has once again requested to address the African Union (AU), Moussa Faki Mahamat, AU Commission Chairperson said on Friday. … Zelensky's renewed request comes as African countries were divided on voting during last month's UN resolution adopted to deplore Russia's invasion on Ukraine.

[…] “High-precision, long-range air-based weapons of the Russian Aerospace Forces have destroyed the production buildings of the Artyom missile and space enterprise in Kyiv,” the ministry said in its daily briefing on the conflict in Ukraine.

[…] This decision follows the lack of consensus at the OSCE Permanent Council on 31 March 2022 to extend the Mission’s mandate. … Minister Rau assured that the Organization will seek to continue its engagement in the country in line with existing OSCE commitments. “The Polish Chairmanship will continue to engage with participating States in order to explore alternatives on the OSCE’s future role in Ukraine,” he stressed.

Washington on Tuesday (26 April) said it would hold talks on a roughly monthly basis in Germany with allies inside and outside NATO to coordinate bolstering Ukraine’s defence capabilities as it battles Russia’s invasion.