Stop blockade, Moscow told

The president of the European Council Charles Michel has demanded an end to Russia's blockade of Ukrainian seaports.

"This must stop," Michel told reporters in India's capital of New Delhi, ahead of a G20 summit.

"Ships with grains need to have safe access to the Black Sea," he said, noting that the United Nations initiative had initially delivered 32 million tons to the market, "especially to developing countries."

Michel also slammed Moscow for attacking Ukrainian seaports hosting grains silos and warehouses.

"Over 250 million people face acute food insecurity worldwide, and by deliberately attacking Ukraine's seaports, the Kremlin is depriving them of the food they desperately need," Michel added.

Russia's blockade to prevent grain ships sailing in and out of Ukraine was lifted under last year's UN-brokered deal called Black Sea Initiative.

Russia pulled out of the grain agreement in July after claiming that it had failed to fulfil the goal of relieving hunger in Africa.

Moscow then stepped up attacks on Ukraine's export hubs and shipping infrastructure.

The Kremlin also asked Turkey to help Russia export its grain to African countries without any involvement from Ukraine.

Missile strike

Meanwhile, Russian missiles struck cities in central and eastern Ukraine Friday killing one person and injuring dozens of others, officials said.

In the central city of Kryvyi Rig, President Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown, a missile attack on a police building killed a policeofficer, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said.

"Rescuers of the State Emergency Service pulled out three more from under the rubble. They are in serious condition," he said.

Photos he shared from the scene showed smoke spewing from the ruins of the building as rescue workers carried an injured person to an ambulance.

Over 40 people were injured, the head of the city administration Oleksandr Vilkul said.

At least three people were injured after Russia also struck the city of Sumy in northeast Ukraine, officials said, while one man was injured by a rocket attack on Zaporizhzhia in the southeast.

"Over the past 24 hours, 93 enemy attacks on 29 towns and villages of the Zaporizhzhia region have been recorded," Yuriy Malashko, head of the local administration, said.

WITH AFP