LIVE UPDATES: UN WFP Unable to Verify Allegations of Russia 'Stealing' Ukraine Grain

The Ninth Summit of the Americas is taking place in Los Angeles from Monday to Friday.

Russian and Turkish defense ministers Sergei Shoigu and Hulusi Akar discussed in detail safety of navigation in the Black Sea in connection with the solution to the problem of exporting grain from Ukraine by phone on Tuesday.

To underscore the importance of the agreement, the release added, US Commerce Department Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement, Matthew Axelrod, met virtually with CBSA officials earlier in the day.

Antonov added that he is "unaware" of any unofficial dialogue between Moscow and Washington.

On February 25, the Russian airborne forces took control over the Chernobyl NPP. On April 2, Grossi said that Russia had confirmed the withdrawal of its forces from the Chernobyl NPP.

"It has been reliably established that the militants of the nationalist battalions, when abandoning the occupied territories and pursuing a goal to not leave grain supplies for locals in Mariupol, deliberately set fire to a large granary in the seaport. As a result, more than 50,000 tons of grain were destroyed," Mizintsev told a briefing, adding that this shows that “the Kiev regime” is using “food terrorism tools”.

Ukraine and Russia account for around 30% of global exports of wheat, 20% of maize, and 76% of sunflower. The West has accused Russia of stopping grain exports from Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly rejected this claim, stressing that seaports will be reopened as soon as Ukrainian naval mines are cleared.

"Yes. And I don't understand why [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy is rebuking him for this, because the Ukrainian president himself said that the only way out is a diplomatic solution to the conflict. By definition, when you're trying to reach a diplomatic solution, the channel of communication should not be broken. The French president is right to try to stop the war through dialogue," Le Pen said on the air of France Info radio network while answering question on whether she agreed with Macron that Russia should not be humiliated.

"I think what we want to do is keep [a] portion [of] oil flowing into the global market to hold down global prices, and try to avoid a [price] spike that causes a worldwide recession," Yellen told a US Senate hearing. "But absolutely, the objective is to limit the revenue going to Russia. There are different ways, technically, of accomplishing that. But it's certainly a desirable strategy."

Zelenskyy said pushing Russian forces back into positions held before the start of the military operation would mean a "serious temporary victory" for Ukraine.

The move comes in a long series of financial measures taken against Russia since late February by the United States and its allies as part of an effort to impose consequences on Moscow for launching the special military operation in Ukraine.

Shoigu and Akar also discussed the "navigation safety" in the Black Sea and issues related to exports of Ukrainian grain.

The World Bank also expects that four other countries in the region — Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Tajikistan — will have their economies shrink in 2022.

"Almost 3 billion, more than 2,7 billion zlotys (about $628 million). There has not been such a contract in the Polish defense industry over the past 30 years," Sasin said.

Sanctions include asset freezes, entry bans and business blacklisting.

The newspaper cited a high-ranking source. Russia has previously taken the issues of Crimea and Donbass off the table, but has never done likewise with Zaporozhye and Kherson.