World News

By Andrew MacAskill and Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) -A London court began hearing the first of two last-minute legal challenges to block the British government’s policy to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda before the first removal flight scheduled to leave on Tuesday.

Britain has agreed a deal with Rwanda to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda in return for an initial payment of 120 million pounds ($148 million) and additional payments based on the number of people deported.

The government says the deportation strategy is aimed at undermining people-smuggling networks and stemming the flow of migrants risking their lives by crossing the English Channel in small boats from Europe.

Initially, some 37 individuals were scheduled to be removed on the first flight to Rwanda, but the number has dwindled in the face of legal challenges. But a lawyer for human right groups said there may now only be 11 people on board.

The government has not provided details of those selected for deportation, but charities say they include people fleeing Afghanistan and Syria.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is determined to press ahead with the policy despite the legal challenges and opposition, reportedly including from Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne.

“It’s very important that the criminal gangs who are putting people’s lives at risk in the Channel, understand that their business model is going to be broken and is being broken by this government,” Johnson told LBC radio.

“They are selling people false hope and luring them into something that is extremely risky and criminal.”

UN CONCERNS

Human rights group say the policy is inhumane and will put migrants at risk. The UNHCR has said Rwanda, whose own human rights record is under scrutiny, does not have the capacity to process the claims.

The Court of Appeal began hearing arguments from two human rights groups and a trade union on Monday after a judge refused their request for an injunction blocking the flight taking off.

The judge said on Friday there was a “material public interest” in allowing the government to pursue the policy”.

Raza Hussain, the lawyer for some of the claimants, said the judge had not given enough weight to the concerns of the UNHCR, which had warned that some asylum seekers could be sent back to a country where they would be at risk of persecution.

The High Court will separately later hear arguments from Asylum Aid, a refugee charity, which launched a second legal challenge to stop the government flying refugees to Rwanda.

The charity said the government’s plan to give asylum seekers seven days to obtain legal advice and to present their case to avoid deportation is flawed and unfair.

This case will be heard by the same judge who on Friday rejected the first request for an injunction.

Over the weekend, Prince Charles was reported by The Times newspaper to have privately described the government’s policy as “appalling”. A spokesperson for Charles did not deny he had expressed personal opinions about the policy but said he remains “politically neutral”.

Under Britain’s unwritten constitution, the royal family are expected to avoid making political comments.

($1 = 0.8121 pounds)

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskillEditing by Chris Reese and Angus MacSwan)

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TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese foundation announced Monday it is launching a fundraising drive to provide more than 1,200 Ukrainian evacuees in Japan with additional financial support for language studies and other needs.

Jumpei Sasakawa, executive director of the Nippon Foundation, said it aims to raise 1 billion yen ($7.4 million) through cooperation with the U.S. and Ukrainian ambassadors.

The foundation has already pledged 5 billion yen ($37 million) for the transportation and living costs of Ukrainian evacuees. Japan has so far accepted more than 1,200 war-displaced Ukrainians since Russia invaded in late February.

Sasakawa said he was approached by U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, who asked him to enable ordinary Japanese to help support Ukrainian evacuees.

Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsk, who joined Sasakawa and Emanuel at a news conference, urged Japanese to see donations to the fund as an “investment by Japan in a nation that will be always be friends with you.” He said Ukrainians in Japan will be “a bridge between our countries” when Ukraine is ready to rebuild itself.

Japan quickly joined the United States and other major industrialized economies in imposing sanctions on Russia and supporting Ukraine because it fears a similar development in East Asia, where Beijing has become increasingly assertive and has threatened to take military actions against Taiwan if it refuses to unite with China.

Acceptance of the Ukrainian evacuees is unusual for Japan, which has extremely strict refugee and immigration policies despite its own shrinking labor force. Advocates have expressed hope that its support for the Ukrainians will lead to a more lenient immigration policy.

Human rights groups have criticized Japan for neglecting displaced people from other countries such as Afghanistan and Myanmar, who have not received such a warm welcome or a nationally-organized support system.

“I would say, this is a win-win situation. Japan could use the help on its labor shortage and Ukraine people or evacuees can bring their skill set and find work and contribute to their temporary new home,” Emanuel said.

The Nippon Foundation was founded by Sasakawa’s grandfather, Ryoichi Sasakawa, a far-right politician and businessman, to distribute money earned from motorboat racing, a popular gambling pastime.

Asked why he turned to the foundation, Emanuel, who has roots in Ukraine, said it is known for humanitarian assistance and was already working to support Ukrainian evacuees.

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By Michel Rose

PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron may find himself without a ruling majority during his second term and deprived of the ability to push through his economic reform agenda with a free hand after a new left-wing alliance did well in the first round of voting.

The second round will be held on Sunday. Here are three possible outcomes.

ABSOLUTE MAJORITY

Scared off by increasingly strident warnings against Jean-Luc Melenchon’s radical left platform, voters elect more than 289 Macron-supported candidates to parliament.

He will have free rein to drive through his manifesto, which includes a contested pension reform. Even so, the president is unlikely to find it as easy to push legislation through parliament as during his first mandate.

His former prime minister, Edouard Philippe, who is widely believed to harbour presidential ambitions, has created his own party, officially part of Macron’s majority, and is likely to want a say on legislation, pushing for more conservative policies on pensions and public deficits, for instance.

With a tight majority, even a small contingent of lawmakers could help make Philippe a kingmaker during Maron’s second term.

HUNG PARLIAMENT

Macron’s coalition fails to reach the 289 mark and does not command a majority of seats despite being the largest party in parliament.

This is an unusual event under the Fifth Republic, and there is no institutional rule to follow to build a coalition, as is the case in countries like Belgium or the Netherlands.

Macron may have to reach out to other parties, probably the centre-right Les Republicains (LR), to form a coalition, which would probably involve offering prominent cabinet roles to LR rivals and manifesto adjustments in return for parliament support.

He could also try to poach lawmakers individually and offer sweeteners to encourage them to break ranks with their party.

Failing that, Macron could be forced to negotiate a majority bill by bill, negotiating the support of the centre right for his economic reforms for example, while attempting to win over centre left support for some social reforms.

That would slow down the pace of reforms and might lead to political deadlock in a country where consensus-building and coalition work is not engrained in the political culture.

But the president would still have a few tricks up his sleeve. He could still, at any time, call for a new snap election, for instance. Or use article 49.3 of the constitution that threatens a new election if a bill is not approved.

Polls show a hung parliament to be the most likely outcome.

COHABITATION

Melenchon defies opinion polls and his NUPES alliance wins a majority in the National Assembly. Under the French constitution, Macron must name a prime minister who has the support of the lower house, and “cohabitation” follows.

Macron is not compelled to pick the person put forward by the majority for premier.

However, should he refuse to name Melenchon, a power struggle would almost certainly ensue with parliament, with the new majority likely to reject any other candidate put forward by Macron.

Cohabitation would leave Macron with few levers of power in his hands and upend his reform agenda. The president would retain the lead on foreign policy, negotiate international treaties, but cede most day-to-day policy-making to the government.

There have been few previous periods of cohabitation in post-war France. They typically led to institutional tension between the president and prime minister, but were surprisingly popular with the electorate.

Polls show this to be the least likely of the three outcomes.

(Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Alison Williams)

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(Reuters) – Russia is using its overmatch in force ratio and artillery to gradually seize territory in and around Ukraine’s Sieverodonetsk, Britain’s Defence Ministry said on Sunday.

Russia has likely started preparing to deploy the third battalion from some combat formations in recent weeks, the ministry said in its latest intelligence update posted on Twitter.

(Reporting by Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru)

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BEIJING (Reuters) -Beijing’s most populous district Chaoyang announced three rounds of mass testing to quell a “ferocious” COVID-19 outbreak that emerged at a bar in a nightlife and shopping area last week, shortly after the city relaxed curbs imposed during an outbreak in April.

City health officials said that so far there have been 166 confirmed cases linked to the outbreak that began at the Heaven Supermarket bar in the Sanlitun area on Thursday, 145 of them bar patrons.

Mass testing would take place between Monday and Wednesday in Chaoyang district, where the bar is located, officials told a press briefing.

The overall numbers of cases and deaths from the pandemic remain extremely low in China compared with many countries around the world.

But even as much of the world has relaxed curbs, Chinese authorities maintain their zero-COVID policy, trying to stamp out outbreaks early with measures including heavy restrictions on movement and mass testing.

Xu Hejian, Beijing city government spokesman, told Sunday’s briefing that the current outbreak in the capital is “ferocious”.

“At present, the risk of a further spread still exists. The most urgent task at the moment is to trace the source of the cluster and also manage and control the risks,” he said, adding Beijing must prevent the emergence of “epidemic amplifiers”.

Two buildings housing hundreds of residents in one Chaoyang compound were put under strict lockdown on Sunday after a single positive case, a residential committee worker told Reuters.

Large metal barricades were installed around the compound. Staff in hazmat suits carrying disinfectant entered the building and extra security and police were brought in at the exits.

Several businesses nearby including the “Paradise Massage & Spa” were also put under temporary lockdown with police tape and security personnel brought in to block the exits.

A handful of customers and staff at the parlour would be locked in for at least two days whilst checks were carried out, a government worker told Reuters.

Some Beijing residents reported that on Sunday they received multiple texts telling them to report to their neighbourhood organisations if they had visited Sanlitun’s bars recently.

It is only a week since state media reported that Beijing would further relax COVID curbs by allowing indoor dining.

MORE TESTING IN SHANGHAI

In Shanghai, subject to two months of lockdown up until the start of June, authorities announced on Saturday a round of testing for most of its 25 million residents.

Shanghai officials told reporters said they found one symptomatic and four asymptomatic cases as of Sunday afternoon, after finding 10 new local symptomatic cases and 19 local asymptomatic cases a day earlier.

Dine-in services will be allowed to resume in a number of restaurants and eateries in three suburban districts, Shanghai officials said.

China reported 275 new coronavirus cases for June 11, of which 134 were symptomatic and 141 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Sunday.

There were no new deaths, leaving the total tally in the pandemic at 5,226. As of Saturday, mainland China had confirmed 224,781 cases with symptoms.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo and Martin Pollard in Beijing and David Kirton in ShenzhenEditing by William Mallard and Frances Kerry)

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(Reuters) -It might look and smell like McDonald’s but now it’s Vkusno & tochka. The golden arches are gone, the filet-of-fish is simply a fish burger. The Big Mac has left Russia.

A new era for Russia’s fast-food and economic scene dawned on Sunday as McDonald’s restaurants flung open their doors in Moscow under new Russian ownership and with the new name, which translates as “Tasty and that’s it”.

The rebranding of the outlets, three decades after the U.S. burger giant first opened in Moscow in a symbolic thaw between East and West, is once again a stark sign of a new world order.

The fortunes of the revamped chain, which McDonald’s sold when it exited the country over the conflict in Ukraine, could provide a test of how successfully Russia’s economy can become more self-sufficient and withstand Western sanctions.

On Sunday, scores of people queued outside what was once McDonald’s flagship restaurant in central Moscow. The outlet sported a new logo – a stylised burger with two fries – plus a slogan reading: “The name changes, love stays”.

The queue was significantly smaller than the thousands of people who thronged to the original McDonald’s opening there in 1990 during the Soviet era.

Vkusno & tochka’s menu was smaller and did not offer the Big Mac and some other burgers. A double cheeseburger was going for 129 roubles ($2.31) compared with roughly 160 under McDonald’s and a fish burger for 169 roubles, compared with about 190 previously.

The composition of burgers has not changed and the equipment from McDonald’s has remained, said Alexander Merkulov, quality manager at the new company.

Sergei, a 15-year-old customer, saw little difference.

“The taste has stayed the same,” he said as tucked into a chicken burger and fries. “The cola is different, but there really is no change to the burger.”

MUCH DIFFERENCE?

The flagship Moscow restaurant is among 15 rebranded outlets that will initially open in and around the capital on Sunday. Oleg Paroev, chief executive of Vkusno & tochka, said the company was planning to reopen 200 restaurants in Russia by the end of June and all 850 by the end of the summer.

The chain will keep its old McDonald’s interior but will expunge any references to its former name, said Paroev, who was appointed Russia McDonald’s CEO weeks before Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.

“Our goal is that our guests do not notice a difference either in quality or ambience,” Paroev told a media conference in the restaurant. He said the chain would keep “affordable prices” but did not rule out slight rises in the near term.

McDonald’s closed its restaurants in Russia on March 14 and said in mid-May it decided to leave the market.

“For three months we did not work,” said Ruzanna, manager of a Moscow branch that will open in July. “Everyone is very pleased.”

Alexander Govor, the new owner of the chain, said up to 7 billion roubles ($125.56 million) would be invested this year in the business, which employs 51,000 people.

“The corporation asked me to, first of all, keep the headcount, to provide people with work. That’s what I’m going to do,” he added.

Govor said the company was looking for new suppliers of soft drinks as Coca Cola, which has said it was suspending its business in Russia.

Moments after the press conference finished a man stood up in front of the cameras holding a sign that read “Bring back the Big Mac”. He was swiftly escorted out by restaurant staff.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Pravin Char)

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By Idrees Ali

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The United States will do its part to manage tensions with China and prevent conflict even though Beijing is becoming increasingly aggressive in the Asian region, including near Taiwan, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday.

Relations between China and the United States have been tense in recent months, with the world’s two largest economies clashing over everything from Taiwan and China’s human rights record to its military activity in the South China Sea.

At a meeting between Austin and Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe on Friday, both sides reiterated they want to better manage their relationship although there was no sign of any breakthrough in resolving differences.

Addressing the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s premier security gathering, Austin said the United States would continue to stand by its allies, including Taiwan.

“That’s especially important as the PRC (People’s Republic of China) adopts a more coercive and aggressive approach to its territorial claims,” he said.

China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own and has vowed to take it by force if necessary.

Austin said there had been an “alarming” increase in the number of unsafe and unprofessional encounters between Chinese planes and vessels with those of other countries.

A Chinese fighter aircraft dangerously intercepted an Australian military surveillance plane in the South China Sea region in May and Canada’s military has accused Chinese warplanes of harassing its patrol aircraft as they monitor North Korea sanction evasions.

Taiwan has complained for years of repeated Chinese air force missions into its air defence identification zone, which is not territorial airspace but a broader area it monitors for threats. Austin said these incursions had surged in recent months.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry thanked the United States on Friday for its support and denounced China’s “absurd” claims of sovereignty.

“Taiwan has never been under the jurisdiction of the Chinese government, and the people of Taiwan will not succumb to threats of force from the Chinese government,” said ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou.

Austin said that the United States’ policy on Taiwan was to remain opposed to any unilateral changes to the status quo.

“Our policy hasn’t changed. But unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be true for the PRC,” Austin said.

However, he added: “We’ll do our part to manage these tensions responsibly, to prevent conflict, and to pursue peace and prosperity.”

Biden said last month the United States would get involved militarily should China attack Taiwan, although the administration has since clarified that U.S. policy on the issue has not changed.

Washington has had a long-standing policy of strategic ambiguity on whether it would defend Taiwan militarily.

Austin’s meeting with Wei largely focused on Taiwan.

“Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait isn’t just a U.S. interest. It’s a matter of international concern,” Austin said.

NO ASIAN NATO

In a speech that focused on the U.S. commitment to the region, Austin said the United States would maintain its presence in Asia but Washington understood the need to prevent conflict.

“We do not seek confrontation or conflict. And we do not seek a new Cold War, an Asian NATO, or a region split into hostile blocs,” he said.

Austin also referred to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has been a priority in Washington and other Western capitals over the past three months.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is what happens when oppressors trample the rules that protect us all,” Austin said. “It’s a preview of a possible world of chaos and turmoil that none of us would want to live in.”

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was scheduled to address the Shangri-La Dialogue in a virtual session later on Saturday.

Earlier this year, Washington said China appeared poised to help Russia in its war against Ukraine.

    But since then, U.S. officials have said while they remain wary about China’s long-standing support for Russia in general, the military and economic support that they worried about has not come to pass, at least for now.

In a separate speech on Saturday, Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi said military cooperation between China and Russia has sharpened security concerns in the region.

“Joint military operations between these two strong military powers will undoubtedly increase concern among other countries,” he said.

    China has not condemned Russia’s attack and does not call it an invasion, but has urged a negotiated solution. Beijing and Moscow have grown closer in recent years, and in February, the two sides signed a wide-ranging strategic partnership aimed at countering U.S. influence and said they would have “no ‘forbidden’ areas of cooperation”.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Gerry Doyle)

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By Natalia Zinets and Max Hunder

KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine pleaded to Western countries for faster deliveries of weapons as better-armed Russian forces pounded the east of the country, and for humanitarian support to combat growing outbreaks of deadly diseases.

In Sievierodonetsk, the small city that has become the focus of Russia’s advance in eastern Ukraine and one of the bloodiest flashpoints in a war well into its fourth month, further heavy fighting was reported.

The war in the east, where Russia is focussing its attention, is now primarily an artillery battle in which Kyiv is severely outgunned, Ukrainian officials say. That means the tide of events could be turned only if Washington and others fulfil promises to send more and better weaponry, including rocket systems.

“This is an artillery war now,” Vadym Skibitsky, Ukraine’s deputy head of military intelligence, told Britain’s Guardian newspaper.

“Everything now depends on what (the West) gives us. Ukraine has one artillery piece to 10 to 15 Russian artillery pieces.”

Germany, among the largest suppliers of weapons since Russia invaded but criticised for being slow to supply the heavy weaponry Kyiv says it needs, plans to revise its rules on arms exports to make it easier to arm democracies like Ukraine, Der Spiegel reported on Friday.

CHOLERA

To the south, the mayor of Mariupol – reduced to ruins by a Russian siege – said sanitation systems were broken and corpses were rotting in the streets.

“There is an outbreak of dysentery and cholera,” Vadym Boichenko told national television. “The war which took over 20,000 residents … unfortunately, with these infection outbreaks, will claim thousands more Mariupolites,” he said, adding some wells had been contaminated by corpses.

Boichenko called on the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to establish a humanitarian corridor to allow remaining residents to leave the city, which is now under Russian control.

In a snapshot of the war’s wider impact, the U.N. food agency said reduced exports of wheat and other food commodities from Ukraine and Russia could inflict chronic hunger on up to 19 million more people globally over the next year.

IN RUINS

Russia is hoping to capture all of the eastern province of Luhansk, which it demands Ukraine cede to separatists along with neighbouring Donetsk. The two provinces make up the Donbas region, where Moscow has backed a revolt by separatist proxies since 2014.

To that end, the Kremlin has concentrated its forces into a battle for Sievierodonetsk, which is in Luhansk.

Ukrainian troops have largely pulled out of the city’s residential areas but have not yielded their foothold on the east bank of the Siverskiy Donets River. Russian forces are also pushing from the north and south to try to encircle the Ukrainians, but have made limited progress.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia was trying to “break every town in the Donbas.”

“Sievierodonetsk, Lysychansk, Bakhmut, Sloviansk, many, many others,” he said in his nightly address. “All these ruins were once happy towns.”

Both sides say they have inflicted mass casualties. Reuters could not immediately verify battlefield reports.

Zelenskiy adviser Oleksiy Arestovych estimated the Russian army is losing on average five to six times as many fighters as the Ukrainian side.

Asked in a social media interview whether that suggested the Ukrainian army had lost up to 10,000 fighters in the first 100 days of the war, Arestovych said, “Yes, something like that.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched what he terms his “special military operation” in Ukraine in February, saying his aim was to disarm and “denazify” Russia’s neighbour. Kyiv and its allies call it an unprovoked war of aggression to capture territory.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday reinforced Washington’s commitment to the region in light of Russia’s actions.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is what happens when oppressors trample the rules that protect us all,” Austin told an Asian security forum in Singapore. “It’s a preview of a possible world of chaos and turmoil that none of us would want to live in.”

Zelenskiy is expected to give a virtual address to the conference later in the day from 0800 GMT.

(Reporting by Natalia Zinets and Max Hunder; Additional reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Kim Coghill, Peter Graff, John Stonestreet and Michael Martina; Editing by Grant McCool, Cynthia Osterman and William Mallard)

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By Lucy Craymer

(Reuters) -Australia’s new Labor-led government has reached a 555 million euro($583.58 million)settlement over a controversial decision last year to scrap the French submarine deal, a move Canberra hopes will help repair the rift between the two countries.

Australia last year cancelled a multi-billion-dollar order for submarines with French military shipyard Naval Group and opted instead for an alternative deal with the United States and Britain.

The move enraged Paris and triggered an unprecedented diplomatic crisis. It has also riled China, the major rising power in the Indo-Pacific region.

Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday in a news conference in Sydney that his government had reached a “fair and equitable” settlement with Naval Group.

The cancellation last year of Canberra’s order for a new conventional submarine fleet with Naval Group – valued at $40 billion in 2016 and reckoned to cost much more today – came after the previous government signed a trilateral security partnership with the United States and Britain.

The trilateral deal was for a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines with U.S. and British technology.

Albanese said the settlement would allow Australia to move forward in its relationship with France.

“Given the gravity of the challenges that we face both in the region and globally, it is essential that Australia and France once again unite to defend our shared principles and interests,” Albanese said in a separate statement.

Australia, the United States, France and its partners have all expressed concern about China’s growing influence in the Pacific, a region that has traditionally been under their sway. Their concerns increased after China and the Solomon Island’s signed a security pact earlier in the year.(nL2N2WH2D3)

“We deeply respect France’s role and active engagement in the Indo-Pacific,” Albanese said.

He added he was looking forward to taking up French President Emmanuel Macron’s invitation to visit Paris.

($1 = 0.9510 euros)

(Reporting by Lucy CraymerEditing by Shri Navaratnam)

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By Natalia Zinets and Max Hunder

KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine sought more help from the West on Friday, pleading for faster deliveries of weapons to hold off better-armed Russian forces and for humanitarian support to combat the march of deadly diseases.

In Sievierodonetsk, the small city that has become the focus of Russia’s advance in eastern Ukraine and one of the bloodiest flashpoints in a war well into its fourth month, further heavy fighting was reported.

To the south, the mayor of the port city of Mariupol – reduced to ruins by a Russian siege – said sanitation systems were broken and corpses were rotting in the streets.

“There is an outbreak of dysentery and cholera… The war which took over 20,000 residents … unfortunately, with these infection outbreaks, will claim thousands more Mariupolites,” he told national television.

He called on the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to work on setting up a humanitarian corridor to allow remaining residents to leave the city, which is now under Russian control.

In a snapshot of the war’s wider impact, the U.N.’s food agency said reduced exports of wheat and other food commodities from Ukraine and Russia could inflict chronic hunger on up to 19 million more people globally over the next year.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called in a videolinked speech for Ukraine to be incorporated as a part of the West, with binding guarantees for its protection.

Asking the EU to accept Ukraine as a membership candidate, he told a conference in Copenhagen: “The European Union can take a historic step that will prove that words about the people of Ukraine belonging to the European family are not just words.”

The war in the east, where Russia is focusing its attentions, is now primarily an artillery battle in which Kyiv is severely outgunned, Ukrainian officials say.

That means the tide of events could be turned only if the West fulfils promises to send more and better weaponry including rocket systems that Washington and others have promised.

‘ARTILLERY WAR’

“This is an artillery war now,” Vadym Skibitsky, Ukraine’s deputy head of military intelligence, told Britain’s Guardian newspaper.

“Everything now depends on what (the West) gives us. Ukraine has one artillery piece to 10 to 15 Russian artillery pieces.”

Germany, among the largest suppliers of weapons since Russia invaded but criticised for its slowness in supplying the heavy weaponry Kyiv says it needs, plans to revise its rules on arms exports to make it easier to arm democracies like Ukraine, Der Spiegel reported on Friday.

Russia is hoping to capture the full territory of eastern Luhansk province, which it demands Ukraine cede to separatists along with neighbouring Donetsk – an area known as the Donbas where it has backed a revolt by separatist proxies since 2014.

To that end, the Kremlin has concentrated its forces into a battle for Sievierodonetsk.

Ukrainian troops have largely pulled out of the city’s residential areas but have not yielded their foothold on the east bank of the Siverskiy Donets river. Russian forces are also pushing from the north and south to try to encircle the Ukrainians, but so far have made limited progress.

Both sides say they have inflicted massive casualties in the battle for the city.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched what he terms his “special military operation” in Ukraine in February saying his aim was to disarm and “denazify” Russia’s neighbour. Kyiv and its allies call it an unprovoked war of aggression to capture territory.

Ukraine said a speech delivered on Thursday by Putin – who drew a parallel between what he portrayed as a new quest to win back Russian lands and the historic achievements of Tsar Peter the Great – proved that Moscow’s aim was conquest.

“Putin’s confession of land seizures and comparing himself with Peter the Great prove: there was no ‘conflict’, only the country’s bloody seizure under contrived pretexts of people’s genocide,” tweeted Zelenskiy aide Mykhailo Podolyak.

(Additional reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Peter Graff and John Stonestreet; Editing by Philippa Fletcher, Edmund Blair and Alex Richardson)

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