Ukraine war live updates: EU says Russia is ‘deliberately using food as a weapon’; Kyiv hit by eighth consecutive nightly drone attack

Kyiv endured its eighth consecutive night of drone attacks from Russia, with Iranian-made Shahed drones once again deployed over the city, local authorities said.

Ukraine’s air defense forces said they intercepted more than a dozen projectiles, and the city’s mayor reported damage to a non-residential building but no casualties.

The EU sharply criticized Russia for its recent bombardments of Ukrainian ports and grain storage infrastructure, accusing it of using food as a weapon and threatening global food security. Several ports in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region came under heavy Russian strikes Wednesday, which damaged at least 40,000 tons of grain set for export and sent global grain prices higher.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s allies continue to monitor its counteroffensive, which Ukrainian officials say has been slowed by a number of factors, including extensive minefields laid by Russian forces. The officials insist, however, that Ukraine’s military is operating on its own timeline for its own strategic reasons.