UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the war in Ukraine on Tuesday "one of the greatest challenges ever to the international order" because it has affected billions of people worldwide.

"Our analysis indicates that 74 developing countries, with a total population of 1.2 billion people, are particularly vulnerable to spiking food, energy and fertilizer costs," said Guterres in an address to the UN Security Council.

The UN chief said that the world is "dealing with a full-fledged invasion" in "violation of the UN Charter, and with several aims, including redrawing the internationally-recognized borders" between Russia and Ukraine.

Guterres noted that the war has disrupted supply chains and increased the cost of transportation, putting even more pressure on the developing world.

"People caught up in crisis around the world cannot pay the price for this war," said Guterres. "Far beyond Ukraine’s borders, the war has led to massive increases in the prices of food, energy and fertilizers, because Russia and Ukraine are lynchpins of these markets."

"For all these reasons, it is more urgent by the day to silence the guns," he added.

Russia’s war against Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, has met international outrage, with the European Union, US, and UK, among others, implementing tough sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,480 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,195 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher.

More than 4.21 million Ukrainians have also fled to other countries, with about 7 million more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency./aa

European stock markets closed mixed on Tuesday.

The STOXX Europe 600, which includes around 90% of the market capitalization of the European market in 17 countries, increased marginally by 0.88 points, or 0.19%, to close at 463 points.

London's FTSE 100 rose 54.8 points, or 0.71%, to finish at 7,613.

Germany's DAX 30 fell 93.8 points, or 0.65%, to end the day at 14,424, while France's CAC 40 was down 85.9 points, or 1.28%, to 6,645.

Italy's FTSE MIB decreased 215 points, or 0.86%, to close at 24,960.

Spain's IBEX 35 was the best performer of the day, soaring 102.5 points, or 1.20%, to 8,623./agencies

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday instructed the government to monitor food exports to “unfriendly” countries.

Speaking at a meeting with government officials in Moscow, Putin said the situation in the global food market is "noticeably complicated," and continues to worsen.

"Mistakes in the economic, energy, and food policies of developed countries led to a sharp increase in food prices around the world two years ago. And the situation has only been getting worse in recent weeks,” he remarked.

Putin said the situation in the energy market was partly provoked by the " rough, non-market measures,” including “administrative pressure" on Gazprom company.

"We are witnessing another attempt by our partners to put their own mistakes in the field of economics and energy on Russia and solve the issues and problems arising in this regard again at our expense," he said.

The president warned against attempts to nationalize Russia's companies, saying it is "a double-edged weapon."

Putin said he expects a fertilizer shortage in the global market this year, and therefore a decrease in yield and attempts by the developed countries to outbid the food distribution will exacerbate food shortages in the poorest regions of the world, spurring new waves of migration and pushing global food prices even higher.

"It is clear that this year, in the conditions of a global food shortage, we will have to be more careful about food supplies abroad, carefully monitor the parameters of such exports to countries that are clearly hostile to us.

"I repeat, such a scenario is more than real, and we – you and I here in Russia – need to be ready for it. This means that it is necessary to minimize negative external effects for our citizens and to increase the production and supply of high-quality, affordable food products to the domestic market," he said.

On March 7, the Russian government issued a list of countries "taking unfriendly actions against Russia, Russian companies, and citizens," referring to the economic sanctions introduced amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

The list includes Ukraine, the US, Canada, EU member states, Switzerland, Norway, New Zealand, Australia, Iceland, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Andorra, Great Britain – including Jersey, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar – Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Micronesia./aa

French prosecutors on Tuesday launched investigations into three cases of alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine, according to media reports.

Anti-terrorism prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard said his office was investigating war crimes involving French citizens in three Ukrainian cities – Mariupol, Hostomel, and Chernihiv, public broadcaster France24 reported.

France’s Central Office for the Fight against Crimes against Humanity, Genocide, and War Crimes will be conducting the investigation.

The alleged crimes were committed in Mariupol between Feb. 24 and March 16, in Gostomel (Kyiv region) between March 1 and 12, and in Chernihiv since Feb. 24 when Russia launched a war in Ukraine, a BFMTV news report said.

The prosecutor’s office said these crimes are likely to be qualified as war crimes as they were deliberate attacks against civilian infrastructure, life-essential objects, or civilians who were not participating in hostilities, the BFMTV report added.

French courts have jurisdiction to investigate a war crime outside French territory if the victim is a French national, the perpetrator of the alleged war crime is French, or the offender is a foreign national but habitually residing in France.

The prosecutor’s office opened the first case of investigation in March into the death of Franco-Irish journalist Pierre Zakrzewski. The veteran cameraman for US-based Fox News was killed alongside Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Kuvshynova outside the capital Kyiv, after being struck by fire by the Russian armed forces.

The French government has also offered its assistance and support to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine for gathering evidence in the investigation of war crimes by Russian armed forces in Bucha.

The bodies of at least 410 civilians were recovered in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha on Sunday after the withdrawal of Russian troops, according to Ukraine's prosecutor-general. Russia has denied that its troops killed civilians while withdrawing from towns near Kyiv./agencies

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared that the killings of civilians in Ukraine's Bucha city are tantamount to "genocide," and that those responsible should be held accountable.

He did, however, emphasize the importance of maintaining diplomatic channels.

Zelenskyy spoke with local journalists about the Russian strikes, his possible meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the current state of affairs in his country.

The Ukrainian president stated that the Bucha killings could be deemed genocide and that the country will do everything possible to bring those responsible to justice. However, he stressed that the developments there should not obstruct the road to the negotiations.

In order to avoid losing Ukrainian territories and find a way out of the war, he urged that Kyiv and Moscow find an opportunity to discuss their differences at the presidential level.

Zelenskyy, however, said a meeting with Putin is not quite possible.

In response to a question about the role of guarantor, he stated that no country has yet firmly offered a "100% " guarantee commitment.

Ukraine refuses to believe in the guarantees issued by Russia, which might return to Ukraine despite the fact that the two nations signed a powerful agreement, the Ukrainian president said, adding that this made it essential for Ukraine to develop a state capable of defending itself.

As for joining NATO, Zelenskyy said Ukraine has not been offered to join the alliance and that it is unlikely to happen anytime soon, prompting the Kyiv administration to build security guarantees that would protect Ukrainians.

The Ukrainian president also noted that his country made a proposal to Russia to settle the issue of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, through diplomatic efforts./aa

Oil prices rose on Tuesday over the prospects of fresh sanctions on Russia amid the expulsion of Russian diplomats by some EU countries.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $108.94 per barrel at 0708 GMT for a 1.31% increase after closing the previous session at $107.53 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $104.70 per barrel at the same time for a 1.37% gain after the previous session closed at $103.28 a barrel.

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said his country would not veto sanctions on Russian gas, following accusations that Russian troops in Ukraine committed “war crimes.” These accusations are based on recent footage depicting mass deaths in Bucha, near the capital Kyiv, after the Russian withdrawal.

Some European countries, including France, Germany and Lithuania, announced a decision to expel several Russian diplomats.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for fresh sanctions in light of the alleged atrocities in Bucha and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki requested the establishment of a commission to investigate what he called “genocide” in Ukraine.

The possibility of more sanctions on Russia, which may include Russian energy export bans, is putting upward pressure on oil prices, with EU countries already expressing their unwillingness to import Russian hydrocarbon resources.

Poland, which said it was ready to stop Russian hydrocarbon imports, urged other European countries to also stop, given these resources are the main source of revenue for the Russian state budget, which is financing the Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Lithuania had already made plans to halt imports of Russian gas by replacing these resources with those through the Hoegh Independence regasification facility at Klaipeda.

Meanwhile, Germany on Monday decided to place the German subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom under the authority of the German Federal Network Agency to ensure security of supply.

Germany’s decision came three days after Gazprom announced plans to abandon its operations in Germany arising from a disagreement between the two countries over Moscow's recent insistence on receiving payments for Russian gas in rubles rather than euros./agencies

More than 7.1 million people have been internally displaced in Ukraine since Russia began its war on Ukraine over 40 days ago, the UN migration agency said Tuesday.

"The main needs include cash, medicines & health services," the International Organization for Migration said on Twitter, adding that half of the displaced are women.

The agency added they will continue to deliver humanitarian aid in Ukraine.

On Feb. 24, Russia launched a war against Ukraine, which has met international outrage, with the European Union, US, and UK, among others, implementing tough sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,430 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,097 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher.

More than 4.21 million Ukrainians have also fled to other countries, according to the UN refugee agency./aa