US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that everyone must work to stop the war in Ukraine, and while the Group of Seven countries decided to provide transfers and loans to Kiev, the evacuation of Ukrainian forces from the city of Mariupol continues.

In his statements Thursday evening, Blinken considered that Russia, the decision-maker to stop the war in Ukraine and its control of the ports, aggravate the global food crisis.

This comes as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson discussed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday long-term security proposals for Ukraine.

After a phone call between the two parties, the Prime Minister's office said, "the two leaders discussed progress in the negotiations and agreed to intensify work with allies, including the United States, France and Germany, to define Ukraine's long-term security architecture."

"They discussed options to open up vital sea and land supply routes to Ukraine's grain stocks, and committed to directing their teams to work urgently on the next steps," he added.

The Russian war on Ukraine caused great damage (French)

money transactions

In developments related to the Ukraine crisis, a draft statement to be issued by the Group of Seven major industrial countries and seen by Reuters on Thursday said the group pledged to provide remittances and loans totaling $18.4 billion to help Ukraine meet its urgent financial needs.

"We have raised $18.4 billion, including $9.2 billion in commitments made recently prior to the Pittsburgh meeting, to help Ukraine bridge financial gaps and ensure the continued provision of essential services to the Ukrainian people," G7 finance ministers and central bank governors said in the draft. .


Crisis and repercussions

Regarding the diplomatic crisis, Moscow announced the expulsion of 5 Portuguese diplomats, in response to a similar measure from Lisbon.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced yesterday the expulsion of 85 European diplomatic staff working in Russia, in response to their governments' expulsion of Russian diplomats following the start of military operations in Ukraine.

In parallel political developments, Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Mikhailo Podolyak said that a ceasefire is impossible without the complete withdrawal of Russian forces.

He added, in a tweet on Twitter, that Ukraine is not interested in a new Minsk agreement, and the outbreak of another war a few years later;

He expressed his country's readiness to fully restore the occupied territories, as he put it.


Field developments

On the ground, a Ukrainian military commander said that the evacuation of Ukrainian forces from the city of Mariupol is continuing, but he did not give details.

"With regard to Mariupol, necessary measures are being taken to evacuate our heroes," General Oleksiy Gromov, deputy head of the Main Operations Department of the Ukrainian General Staff, told an online press briefing.

On Thursday, Moscow said that 1,730 Ukrainian fighters had surrendered in Mariupol over a period of 3 days, including 771 in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, at least 12 people were killed and 40 others wounded in heavy Russian shelling of the city of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, which is besieged by the Russian army, according to the regional governor.

Sergey Gaidai said via Telegram that the Russians "began in the morning to bombard the regional center indiscriminately, using heavy weapons. The bombing continues."