Russia pushes Ukrainian defenders to outskirts of key eastern city

KYIV: Ukrainian forces pulled back to the outskirts of the industrial city of Sievierodonetsk on Wednesday in the face of a fierce Russian assault, the regional governor said, another big swing in momentum in one of the bloodiest battles of the war.

Russia has concentrated its troops and firepower on the small eastern city in recent weeks to secure the surrounding province on behalf of separatist proxies. Ukraine has vowed to fight there for as long as possible, saying the battle could help shape the war’s future course.

In his daily address late on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had struck a defiant tone: "The absolutely heroic defence of Donbas continues."

Russia’s offensive is now targeting the Donbas region, which includes Lugansk and Donetsk, after its forces were pushed back from Kyiv and other areas following the February invasion. The cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, which are separated by a river, are the last areas still under Ukrainian control in Lugansk.

As concerns mounted over grain trapped at Ukrainian ports, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was ready to ensure the safe passage of ships from Ukraine. "We are ready to do this in cooperation with our Turkish colleagues," Lavrov told reporters in Ankara amid stark warnings of shortages worldwide partly blamed on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

His Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu called Russian demands for an end to sanctions to help grain onto the world market "legitimate". "If we need to open up the international market to Ukrainian grain, we see the removal of obstacles standing in the way of Russia’s exports as a legitimate demand," he said.

But Ukraine said on Wednesday it would not demine waters around the Black Sea port of Odessa to allow grain exports, citing the threat of Russian attacks on the city. At the request of the United Nations, Turkey has offered its services to escort maritime convoys from Ukrainian ports, despite the presence of mines -- some of which have been detected near the Turkish coast.

Both sides accuse one another of destroying agricultural areas, which could worsen global food shortages. As he hosted Mediterranean ministers on the global food crisis, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio warned "millions" could die unless Russia unblocked Ukraine’s ports.

The war’s economic impact continued to reverberate, with the World Bank cutting its global growth estimate to 2.9 percent -- 1.2 percentage points below the January forecast -- due largely to the invasion.

The toxic combination of weak growth and rising prices could trigger widespread suffering in dozens of poorer countries still struggling to recover from the upheaval of the Covid-19 pandemic, the bank said.

Meanwhile, UN chief Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that the consequences for the world of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are worsening, with 1.6 billion people likely to be affect.

"The war’s impact on food security, energy and finance is systemic, severe, and speeding up," the Secretary-General said, presenting the UN’s second report into the repercussions of the conflict. He added that "for people around the world, the war is threatening to unleash an unprecedented wave of hunger and destitution, leaving social and economic chaos in its wake."

Guterres said that while this year’s food crisis is "about lack of access," next year’s "could be about lack of food." "There is only one way to stop this gathering storm: the Russian invasion of Ukraine must end," he pleaded in a speech.

The head of the world body said he had asked colleagues to help find "a package deal that allows for the safe and secure export of Ukrainian-produced food through the Black Sea, and unimpeded access to global markets for Russian food and fertilizers."

"This deal is essential for hundreds of millions of people in developing countries, including in sub-Saharan Africa," said Guterres.

The UN report, led by diplomat Rebeca Grynspan, says that an estimated 94 countries, home to around 1.6 billion people, are "severely exposed to at least one dimension of the crisis and unable to cope with it."

The report says that the war may increase the number of food-insecure people by 47 million people in 2022, bringing it to 323 million by the end of the year. It is estimated that up to 58 million more Africans may fall into poverty this year, the document adds. Extreme poverty in the Middle East and North Africa could increase by 2.8 million people in 2022, while in South Asia 500 million people are at risk, according to the report.