Russia-Ukraine War News LIVE Updates: US announces additional $1.7 billion aid to Ukraine

Russian and Ukrainian delegations were due to meet with UN diplomats in Istanbul on Wednesday in a bid to break a months-long impasse over stalled grain deliveries across the Black Sea. The four-way meeting with Turkish officials comes as food prices soar around the world due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine is one of the world's biggest exporters of wheat and other grain.

Kyiv said Tuesday it had launched artillery barrages that a destroyed a Russian arms depot and carried out a "special operation" to free military captives in the Moscow-controlled Kherson region. The bombardments in the south came as the EU green-lit one billion euros in aid for Ukraine and Turkey announced that delegations from Moscow and Kyiv would meet in Istanbul on Wednesday to discuss the resumption of stalled grain deliveries across the Black Sea.

Moscow's plan to implement a new law enabling authorities to seize the assets of Western firms leaving the country failed to get through parliament before the summer recess, giving companies more time to negotiate exits. Russia's parliamentary session ended last week without the bill being passed. That makes any progress unlikely until at least mid-September, when the lower house of parliament, or Duma, begins reviewing proposed laws in its autumn session.

The death toll under a collapsed apartment block in the Donetsk region town of Chasiv Yar climbed to 35 on Tuesday, with rescue work still not over four days after the building was hit by Russian rocket fire, emergency services said. Over 320 tonnes of rubble had been cleared and 9 people rescued from under the ruins, the regional emergency services directorate wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.

By the time the Russians invaded, 43-year-old Mufti Said Ismahilov — one of the Muslim spiritual leaders of Ukraine — had already resolved that he would step aside from his religious duties to fight for his country.At the end of last year, as warnings of an imminent attack grew louder, Ismahilov began training with a local territorial defense battalion. By then he had served as a mufti for thirteen years.

A fresh round of talks between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations over grain exports from Ukraine will take place on Wednesday in Istanbul, Interfax news agency reported, citing the Russian foreign ministry.Ukraine is a key agricultural exporter and its inability to ship vital grain supplies has caused a surge in food prices, aggravating concerns about a global food crisis.

A Russian ammunition depot was apparently targeted by Ukrainian forces overnight, resulting in a massive blast captured on social media.The Ukrainian military’s southern command said the rocket strike targeted the depot in Russian-held Nova Kakhovka, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) east of the important Black Sea port city of Kherson, which is also occupied by Russian forces.

India once again expressed deep concern over the situation in Ukraine on Monday and called for a cessation of all hostilities while backing efforts to alleviate the sufferings of the people of Ukraine especially encouraging talks between Kyiv and Moscow.Speaking at the UNSC Arria-formula meeting on Ukraine, Counsellor in India's Permanent Mission to the UN Pratik Mathur said India remains deeply concerned over the situation in Ukraine.