The Ukrainian president said restationing Andriy Melnyk was a "normal" part of diplomatic practice. But it comes after Melnyk defended Ukrainian ultranationalist Stepan Bandera, angering Poland and Israel.

Food prices soared beyond the reach of many, even before Russia's war in Ukraine choked grain supplies, a new report says. The effects of climate change, COVID-19 and armed conflicts drove up the cost of basic goods.

Russia and Ukraine made enough progress on resolving their dispute over blocked grain exports that "a final agreement" could be reached next week, the UN and Turkey said after face-to-face talks in Istanbul.

The European Commission said Russia can continue rail — but not road — transit of sanctioned goods to Kaliningrad as long as they don't serve military purpose.

In eastern Ukraine, Russia continues its push to control the entire Donbas region. The strategic towns of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Bakhmut have all seen intense bombardment in recent days, leaving Ukrainian forces to shore up their lines of defence. Our reporters Luke Shrago, Taline Oundjian and Achraf Abid spent the night with some of those forces near the front, offering a glimpse into the life of a typical Ukrainian soldier at war.

Russian missiles struck a city in central Ukraine Thursday, killed 21 people and wounding about 90 more, Ukrainian authorities said. The country's president called the attack "an open act of terrorism" against civilians in locations without any military value.

After orders to step up operations in Ukraine, Russian forces appear to be resuming their attacks in the Donbas region with small-scale offensives near the city of Sloviansk.

Sweden offered safety to many who fled persecution by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Now, he's demanding their return as Stockholm's entry fee to NATO.

Analysts say Russia may be seeking to take over Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv. Meanwhile, Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired his head of state security and his prosecutor general. Follow DW for more.

The US Department of Defense believes Russia is installing proxy officials in order to seize Ukrainian land. A bridge in the Russian-controlled Kherson region was reportedly damaged by shelling. DW rounds up the latest.

Vladimir Putin works his Middle East connections. For his first international outing since the war in Ukraine, he went to Iran to meet with supreme leader Ali Khamenei and Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Iran and Russia are seeking closer ties in the face of Western sanctions. Also on the agenda: negotiations over blockaded imports of Ukrainian grain and the situation in Syria.

Germany's foreign minister told DW that Moscow's justification for focusing on territory beyond the Donbas does not stack up. She also said Berlin must not leave itself open to blackmail from other states.