Ukraine war will compound food insecurity across Africa for at least two years, UK’s defense ministry says
Farming vehicles harvest wheat during the harvesting season in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, on July 26, 2023.
Stringer | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Friday that the war in Ukraine will “almost certainly” compound food insecurity across Africa for at least the next two years.
Russia last week withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which had allowed for the safe, global shipment of grain from Ukraine.
The ministry added that the number of African heads of state attending the Russia-Africa summit, which is currently being held in St. Petersburg, was down to 17 from 43 last year.
— Karen Gilchrist
Putin lauds ‘militant friendship’ from North Korea, vows to boost ties
People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with an image of a North Korean military parade held in Pyongyang to mark the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice, at a railway station in Seoul on July 28, 2023.
Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Images
President Vladimir Putin on Friday lauded Russia’s “militant friendship” with North Korea and vowed to further develop political, economic and security ties with the isolated nation, state media reported.
In a letter shared by Russian delegates during their visit to Pyongyang, Putin said it was especially important to enrich the countries’ tradition of “friendship, good neighborliness and mutual assistance” in the face of present threats.
“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s firm support to the special military operation against Ukraine and its solidarity with Russia on key international issues highlight our common interests and determination to counter the policy of the Western group which hinders the establishment of the truly multipolarized and just world order,” the letter read, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
The letter was shared as Russian and Chinese delegates joined North Korea in celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, Pyongyang’s so-called Victory Day.
— Karen Gilchrist
Ukrainian forces recaptured Staromaiorske, Zelenskyy says
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday posted a video showing Ukrainian soldiers saying they have “liberated the village” of Staromaiorske, located east of Zaporizhzhia city.
In comments accompanying the video, shared on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, Zelenskyy said: “Our South! Our guys! Glory to Ukraine!”
The village is close to the front line of the Ukrainian counteroffensive near the border of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
— Karen Gilchrist
Nearly 500 children have died due to Russia’s invasion, Ukraine’s prosecutor general says
Playground in front of a residential building destroyed by Russian shelling on January 30, 2023 in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Yevhenii Zavhorodnii | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said on Twitter that his office has documented 498 cases where children have died due to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Kostin added that his office has also recorded more than 19,000 forced deportations.
In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, for the alleged deportation of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.
— Amanda Macias
New report details ways in which China is supporting Russia during the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping shake hands at the end of a joint press conference following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 5, 2019.
Maxim Shipenkov | AFP | Getty Images
An unclassified assessment by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence outlines China’s financial support for Russia during the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.
The Biden administration previously warned Beijing to not support Moscow as the U.S. and its Western allies coordinate global sanctions for Russia’s ongoing war.
The unclassified report, which was released by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, is available here.
— Amanda Macias