Russia says it struck Ukrainian infrastructure, Ukraine reports repelled attacks

Russia said on Saturday that its forces had struck Ukrainian energy and transport infrastructure, while Ukraine reported that it had repelled Russian attacks on several fronts.

In its daily briefing, the Russian Defense Ministry said that over the past day, its forces had taken control of a settlement in the Zaporizhzhia region and struck Ukrainian military targets in 142 locations, including energy and transport infrastructure, drone production workshops and storage and launch sites, and ammunition depots.

It added that Russian forces continued to strike substations, railway locomotives, port facilities and vessels at sea serving the Ukrainian military.

On the same day, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said 273 clashes took place along the front line over the previous day, and that Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attacks in several directions. It also confirmed that Ukrainian forces struck two key facilities inside Russia on Friday, targeting an oil hub in the Samara region and a military airfield in the Lipetsk region.

Russia says it struck Ukrainian infrastructure, Ukraine reports repelled attacks

Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services Jorge Moreira da Silva on Saturday urged Iran and the United States to immediately allow fertilizer shipment through the Strait of Hormuz to ease the crisis in some vulnerable countries.

Da Silva said since the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran on Feb 28, global fertilizer prices have increased by around 30 percent, as a third of the world's fertilizers were shipped through Hormuz before the conflict.

The UN official warned that many countries are currently impacted by the shortage of fertilizers, and if planting seasons are missed, 45 million people worldwide may face severe food insecurity and 30 million may be forced into poverty.

He said at least five fertilizer ships are needed to pass through the strait every day, and the existing UN mechanism could resume fertilizer shipment within 7 to 10 days.

UN official urges Iran, US to allow fertilizer shipment through Hormuz