A war crimes prosecutor and a rescuer and a civil, look at a destroyed building after being hit by a missile strike in the Ukrainian town of Serhiivka, near Odessa, killing at least 18 people and injuring 30, on July 1, 2022. AFPPIX: Missile strikes killed 19 people and wounded dozens in Ukraine's Odessa region Friday, a day after Russian troops abandoned positions on a strategic island in a major setback to the Kremlin's invasion.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a senior official at the Ukrainian presidency, earlier put the death toll at 18, including two children. The president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen told Ukrainian lawmakers Friday that membership was “within reach” but urged them to make anti-corruption reforms. “Evacuation from Lysychansk is not possible for now,“ he said. “The town is being ruined constantly,“ he added.
In peacetime, Ukraine is a major agricultural exporter, but Russia's invasion has damaged farmland and seen Ukraine's ports seized, razed or blockaded -- sparking concerns about food shortages, particularly in poor countries.Western powers have accused Putin of using the trapped harvest as a weapon to increase pressure on the international community, and Russia has been accused of stealing grain.