A Russian official accused Ukraine of withdrawing from the negotiations after an American-British intervention, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he presented the European leaders who visited Kyiv with a sanctions plan against Russia, and accused it of trying to starve the world, amid pledges from Europe and NATO to support Ukraine.
In statements to Al-Jazeera, the Russian deputy representative to the United Nations said that there are no negotiations because the Ukrainian side withdrew from them, accusing Ukraine of withdrawing after the intervention of Washington and London.
"We are ready for negotiations, but the approach of the Ukrainians is not serious," he added.
The Russian diplomat considered that the food crisis had not been exacerbated by the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
European support
On the other hand, the head of Zelensky's office announced that Ukraine had handed over to the European leaders who visited Kyiv a proposal for an integrated package of sanctions against Russia.
On Thursday, Zelensky received German Chancellor Olaf Schulz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.
At a joint press conference of the five leaders, Zelensky accused Russia of provoking the global food crisis, stressing the need to make every effort to prevent Russia's plan to create hunger and political chaos in African and Asian countries, as he put it.
He added that the total number of various Russian missiles fired at Ukraine and civilians may approach 3,000 this month, most of which were launched against civilian infrastructure, stressing his country's need for shipments of heavy weapons, modern missile launchers, and air defense missile systems.
After the meeting, European leaders announced that they would focus on supporting Ukraine on several levels, including the issue of joining the European Union.
At the end of the visit, Macron pledged to intensify the sending of weapons to Ukraine, including Caesar cannons mounted on more powerful vehicles, to repel the Russian invasion.
On the other hand, the Kremlin expressed the hope that the visit would not be limited to arms exports.
In a related context, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko rejected Ukraine's accusation of her country of stealing grain from Russian forces, and told Reuters that "Russia provides a green (safe) passage for grain and any other foodstuffs such as oilseeds ... so that they can be exported from Ukraine without obstacles ( Via) Melitopol or Berdyansk".
Abramchenko reiterated Russia's position that Ukraine should open sea lanes to the mined port of Odessa.
NATO commitments
Meanwhile, the defense ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held a meeting at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, and at the top of the agenda was strengthening deterrence on the eastern borders of NATO countries in light of the Russian war on Ukraine.
At a press conference, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said allies would make long-term strategic decisions on ensuring NATO's ability to defend every inch of the alliance's territory, as well as the need for more defense spending.
He considered that "the Russian aggression changed the rules of the game, and the alliance must maintain deterrence and defense capabilities."
He added that the ministers discussed the positioning of the alliance in the future, in order to consider how to enhance its capabilities in all fields and enhance its presence and readiness.
Stoltenberg explained that this means more combat formations and enhanced capabilities on the Eastern Front, more ground and cyber defenses, and more weapons stockpiles.
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, the NATO Secretary General accused Russia of trying to attack arms shipments by NATO partners to Ukraine, stressing the alliance's consensus on the need to provide more military support to Kiev.
In his interview, Stoltenberg stressed the alliance countries' commitment to support a country and people that defend their right to self-determination, as he put it.
refugee crisis
On the humanitarian front, UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh said, in an interview with Al Jazeera, that Russia's war on Ukraine has caused massive displacement globally.
"At the end of last year, there were 90 million people forced to leave their homes, as well as internal displacement and large numbers of asylum seekers. This number has increased dramatically in recent months as a result of the situation in Ukraine, bringing the total number to more than 100 million," he added.
Saltmarsh explained that conflicts in Africa, Afghanistan and other parts of the world played a role in the rise in this number.