The United States has scrapped the plan made by Russian President Vladimir Putin to facilitate grain and fertiliser exports only if sanctions on his country are lifted, pinning the blame on the Kremlin for blocking shipments and stoking concerns of global food shortages. 

In a report, CNN reported quoting unidentified government sources and said that the US may announce a new package of aid for Ukraine as soon as next week that would include long-range rocket systems and other advanced weapons.

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A record volume of Russian oil is on board tankers, with most of that heading to India or China as other nations restrict imports because of the war in Ukraine.

Earlier, Russia reported that its troops explored the abandoned Azovstal plant and said they discovered plentiful supplies of food, water and equipment left by the Azov Battalion after their surrender.

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Last week, after seizing Mariupol, Russian sappers have cleared the area of mines and destroyed over 12,000 explosives, adding that the port city has now returned to normal activity.

Members of the People’s Militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) said they found entire workshops and plentiful food supplies in the catacombs of the city’s Azovstal metallurgical plant, suggesting that hundreds of holed-up Azov fighters there did not need to surrender.

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In a video released by the militia from their explorations of the plant found 41 workshops, 80 auxiliary buildings and 22 canteens along with large workshops for allegedly producing explosives, including blast furnaces and rolling mills.