For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.
The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT.
4:20 a.m.: The Washington Post reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an appearance on Russian TV, blamed Western sanctions for world food problems.
Ukraine is a major producer of wheat and corn. The Associated Press reports that African countries imported 44% of their wheat from Russia and Ukraine between 2018 and 2020.
The AP reports that Ukraine and its allies have blamed Russia for blocking Ukraine’s grain exports.
3:14 a.m.: Al Jazeera reports that Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, may join a late June NATO summit to discuss the Ukraine crisis.
The NATO summit is set for June 29-30 in Madrid.
2:15 a.m.: The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S. think tank, has issued a new assessment of the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
In it, the institute notes that Russia has made minor gains in Severodonetsk but still faces localized counterattacks from Ukrainian forces.
Additionally, it says, Russian officials have begun issuing Russian passports to residents of the occupied cities of Kherson and Melitopol. They’re still facing Ukrainian partisan actions in the occupied areas.
It also notes that frontline units lack medical supplies, causing “abysmal medical care.”
1:04 a.m.: The New York Times, citing a report by the United Nations Development Program, says that Ukraine has removed 127,393 explosive devices, mostly in urban areas.
12:02 a.m.: Volunteers have carried out the largest evacuation from Ukraine’s Kharkiv region to date. Around 1,500 people were evacuated from the occupied territory in just one day on May 30 after five volunteer organizations came together and organized a humanitarian corridor to safety. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has the story.
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press.
…