Ukraine

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The Russian Federation’s attacks on Ukrainian port facilities are a further blow to global food security following Moscow’s decision to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, as speakers condemned attempts to weaponize food and the politicization of humanitarian need.

One truck carrying humanitarian assistance from the United Nations Children’s Fund crossed into north-west Syria from Türkiye through the Bab al-Salam crossing, making it a total of 18 trucks this week delivering life-saving relief items from United Nations agencies via that crossing.

In Malawi, the World Food Programme faces a critical funding shortage of $6.3 million, forcing it to implement cuts in food rations for 51,000 refugees living in the Dzaleka camp. The new cash allowance will be $5.90 per person per month — down from $8.50 — barely enough to meet monthly food requirements.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

United Nations efforts on transferring the millions of oil barrels from the FSO Safer continue, with the replacement vessel, Nautica, now known as the Yemen, only 3 kilometres from the Safer and in final preparations for ship-to-ship transfer of oil expected at the end of the week. The Ndeavour is already alongside to help with the transfer.

Nine years after the Russian Federation’s illegal annexation of Crimea and 500 days after its invasion of Ukraine, the General Assembly met today to intensify its call for a peaceful end to a conflict that has killed and injured tens of thousands of people while scattering 6 million refugees across Europe and displacing millions more within Ukraine.

In Haiti, the World Food Programme (WFP) today said it has been forced to cut the number of people receiving emergency food assistance by 25 per cent this month due to dwindling funding levels, ending support for 100,000 of the most vulnerable Haitians. WFP urgently needs $121 million to continue vital aid through 2023.

The decision by the Russian Federation to terminate the Black Sea Grain Initiative will strike a blow to people in need everywhere, a senior United Nations official warned the Security Council today, emphasizing that in addition to causing unconscionable death and destruction, the war in Ukraine has greatly diminished the international community’s ability to face an uncertain future.

The following statement by UN Secretary-General António Guterres was issued today: