May 24, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Russia is employing a similar tactic with food supplies as it is with energy, and "weaponizing" the sector with global repercussions, Ursula von der Leyen told the World Economic Forum Tuesday. 

The European Commission President said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine -- "the bread basket" of the world -- and the sanctions imposed against it in response has pushed up global prices of grain and fertilizer, triggering a food crisis. 

The Russian army is confiscating grain suppliers and machinery in areas of Ukraine and blocking exports from ports in the Black Sea, von der Leyen said.

She urged the international community to come together to counter what she called Moscow’s "blackmail."

Her comments come hours after UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said deaths from food shortages due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine "could be even greater than the lives lost in the war directly."

Shapps said in a television interview Tuesday that he met with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksandr Kubrakov last week in Germany to discuss how infrastructure could be put in place to ensure the grain leaves Ukraine.

Supplies from Russia and Ukraine account for nearly 30% of global wheat trade.

Sanctions against Russia imposed by the EU, US and other Western countries are "draining Putin’s war machine," Ursula von der Leyen told the World Economic Forum in Davos, as the bloc continues to negotiate even harsher measures. 

In a special address to delegates in Davos Tuesday, the European Commission President said Russia’s war is not just a matter of Ukraine's survival or EU security, but "puts our whole global order in question."

The bloc must do whatever is necessary to help defeat Russia and will play an important role in the rebuilding of Ukraine, she said, adding "we will hand in hand help Ukraine rise from the ashes."

The World Economic Forum kicked off in Switzerland on Monday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for maximum sanctions against Russian in his virtual address.

The conference sees leading global politicians, CEOs and billionaires discussing economic issues and solutions. This year is the first to be held in-person since the pandemic.

Leaders from the US, India, Australia and Japan had a "frank discussion" about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday.

The heads of state from the four nations met in Tokyo for a summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), an informal group focused on security that dates back to the early 2000s.

"The United States, India, Australia and Japan and the four leaders engaged in frank discussion over the impact of the Ukrainian situation on Indo Pacific region," said Kishida.

"India also participated in stating our concern over the miserable war in Ukraine. We affirmed that the principles such as the rule of law, sovereignty and territorial integrity must be upheld in any region," Kishida added.

"On the international situation, each country has its own historical developments as well as the geographical situation. So even amongst like minded countries, the positions may not agree fully," Kishida said.

He added that, on Ukraine, all of the leaders "were able to reaffirm the importance of the various principles, such as the rule of law, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and also, a unilateral change of status quo or by force shall never be allowed in any region."  

India has expressed concern over the situation in Ukraine but stopped short of condemning Russia’s invasion. The issue has been a point of contention between the Quad leaders.

Some context: The Quad has become more active in recent years as part of efforts to counter China's reach and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific.

The meeting came at the end of US President Joe Biden's first trip to Asia since becoming President, a five-day visit he began in South Korea. 

Deaths from global grain and food shortages due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine "could be even greater than the lives lost in the war directly," UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said Tuesday.

Shapps said he is "very concerned" about the issue, and met with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksandr Kubrakov last week in Germany to discuss how infrastructure could be put in place to ensure the grain leaves Ukraine.

"I’m specifically concerned with the situation in Ukraine. We’ve seen this barbaric invasion by Putin," Shapps said during an interview with Sky News Tuesday.

Shapps said that, while he couldn’t go into details about his meeting with Kubrakov, "there are lots of different potential ways to get grain and other goods out of the country, and indeed goods into the country as well."

"I think it’s absolutely essential that we do, otherwise there could be a lot of hunger and indeed even famine, which could dwarf the numbers involved in the war itself," Shapps added.

He said there are "a lot of complexities" in regards to getting grain out of Ukraine, including mined waters near the southern port city of Odesa.

Shapps added: "It’s hard to overestimate the extent to which Ukraine was, and is, the breadbasket of the world." 

Some background: Supplies from Russia and Ukraine account for nearly 30% of global wheat trade. 

But international wheat prices have hit an all-time high since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Multiple sources have told CNN that Russian forces have been stealing thousands of tons of grain from Ukrainian farmers in areas they have occupied, while satellite imagery has appeared to show Russian ships loading what is believed to be stolen Ukrainian grain in Crimea. 

The rise in food prices is the most since 2008, according to a World Bank report published in April. Food costs will increase by 22.9% this year, highlighted by a 40% rise in wheat prices, the report said. 

However, US and European allies have been struggling with plans to get vital grain supplies out of Ukraine.

Outgoing President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte has criticized his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for killing innocent civilians in Ukraine.

Duterte said that, while both he and Putin have been called killers, the two men are different.

"A lot of people are saying that Putin and I are the same because we kill people," said Duterte during a public address on Monday night, according to the state-run Philippines News Agency (PNA). 

"But I kill criminals. I do not kill children and elderly. What is happening in Russia and America is different from what is happening here."

Duterte said he was not condemning his "friend" Putin, but was rather sharing his sentiment.

"Putin is my friend. You are in control of everything. Anyway, you really started the ruckus there. Control your soldiers. They’re running amok," Duterte said, according to the news agency. 

Duterte also requested that the Russian Embassy in the Philippines relay his message to Putin, saying it is Putin’s obligation to ensure the safety of the innocent.

"The embassy of Russia, if you’re listening, I am not picking a quarrel with anybody. I said Putin is a friend of mine," he said. "But … it is your moral obligation to see to it that the civilians, the innocent ones, children, the elderly, the women … They are too vulnerable."

Some context: Russian troops have been accused of perpetrating a litany of alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Evidence is mounting of indiscriminate killings of civilians attempting to flee the violence and victims found with their hands tied behind their backs, as well as an attack on a maternity hospital and a theater-turned-shelter.

Russia has denied allegations of war crimes and claims its forces do not target civilians, but CNN journalists on the ground in Ukraine have seen firsthand evidence of atrocities at multiple locations across the country.

And on Monday a 21-year-old Russian soldier was sentenced to life in prison for killing an unarmed 62-year-old civilian man in Ukraine's first war crimes trial since Russia's invasion.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow must cease any dependency on the West and that it is instead strengthening ties with China. 

"Now that the West has taken a 'dictator’s position,' our economic ties with China will grow even faster," Lavrov told an audience at a question and answer session in Moscow on Monday, according to a transcript from the Russian Foreign Ministry.

He said China has "highly developed" information and communications technologies that are in "no way inferior to the West," which "ensure mutual benefits."

The foreign minister said if the West wants to resume relations, then Moscow would consider if the country needed it or not.

He added that Russia needed to stop being dependent "in any way" on supplies from the West for the development of "security, the economy or our homeland’s social sphere."

"When we can finally count only on ourselves and on countries which have proven themselves reliable and do not dance to someone else’s tune, then if Western countries come to their senses and begin to propose some form of cooperation, it will be up to us to decide," he added. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have cultivated close ties, with China currently buying record amounts of Russian coal, but the two countries have shared historical rivalries.

Read more here:

RELATED

China needs Russian coal. Moscow needs new customers | CNN Business

The pro-Moscow authorities of Ukraine's Kherson region will request a Russian military base in the region, Russian state news agencies reported Tuesday. 

Russian state news agencies RIA-Novosti and TASS quoted Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-installed administration of Kherson region, as saying, "there should be a military base of the Russian Federation in the Kherson region. We will ask for this, and the entire population is interested in this."

The Russian military took control of parts of the Kherson region in mid-March, and Russian-backed officials claim to have occupied a series of government posts. 

Ukrainian officials estimate around half the population of Kherson has now left the region, many of whom say they have fled heavy-handed Russian rule. 

Russian efforts to advance a referendum on a so-called "Kherson People's Republic" that would mirror the emergence of Russian-backed separatist statelets in eastern Ukraine appeared to have been put on hold. 

The Colombian armed forces are sending a team to Ukraine to train its military on landmine removal operations, the Colombian Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Monday.

The 11 military engineers will be deployed to an unnamed neighboring NATO country where the training will be carried out, according to the statement. 

Some context: In March, US President Joe Biden announced Colombia would be designated as a major non-NATO ally, strengthening security and economic ties between the pair.

As of this year, there are more than 15 nations that are designated as major non-NATO allies to the US, including Australia, Japan, Israel, the Philippines and Qatar.

Read more about forests littered with mines and unexploded ammunition here:

RELATED

Ukraine's natural environment is another casualty of war. The damage could be felt for decades

US President Joe Biden's first meeting with his new Australian counterpart, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, focused in part on the war in Ukraine, according to a US statement.

Albanese was sworn in on Monday before departing for the Quad Summit in Tokyo, joining leaders from the US, India and Japan.

US-India discussions: Biden also "condemned Russia’s unjustifiable war against Ukraine" in his meeting with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to a White House statement.

Modi has been reluctant to condemn Russia's invasion due to ties between the two nations.

Follow CNN's live coverage of the Quad Summit here.