The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on Friday announced its Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices for a basket of goods, doubled in March from a record high last month. The FAO said the index reached 159.3 points last month, up 12.6% from an all-time high in February since the index was created in 1990. The Rome-based agency says the war in Ukraine is largely responsible for the 17.1% rise in prices for cereals, including wheat and all coarse grains. Russia and Ukraine together account for about 30% and 20% of world wheat and maize exports, respectively.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: – Officials say Russian missile kills 30 civilians at train station – Congress votes to suspend Russia’s trade regime, ban oil – UN General Assembly votes to suspend Russia from UN Rights Council – UN Assistant Secretary-General: “I’m not optimistic” about a ceasefire in Ukraine – Russia moves troops and focuses to the east, but this strategy also carries risks – Ukrainian refugees find the fastest way to the US via Mexico – Go to for more coverage

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: LONDON – Britain has added two adult daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin to its sanctions list following similar moves by the United States and the European Union. The government announced Friday that it was imposing assets and travel bans on Putin’s daughters, Katerina Tikhonova and Maria Vorontsova, as well as on Yekaterina Vinokourova, the daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Britain says it has imposed sanctions on more than 1,200 Russian individuals and businesses since the February 24 invasion of Ukraine, including 76 oligarchs and 16 banks. He says Western nations have frozen a total of 275 billion pounds ($ 360 billion), or 60 percent of Russia’s foreign exchange reserves. The story goes on

KYIV, Ukraine – President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says about 30 people have been killed and about 100 injured in a rocket attack on a railway station in Kramatorsk in the east of the country. Writing on social media platforms, Zelensky said thousands of people were present at the station at the time of the strike. The head of the Ukrainian railway service, Olexander Kamyshin, made similar comments about the strike. Kramatorsk is a town in a part of the Donetsk region controlled by the Ukrainian government and its railway station was used to evacuate civilians. Zelensky attacked the Russian forces, saying that “they are cynically destroying the civilian population” and described it as “an evil without limits”. Russian-backed separatists in Donetsk have blamed Ukrainian forces.

KYIV, Ukraine – The governor of Ukraine’s Sumy region, which borders Russia, is urging locals to avoid using forest roads, walking on the sidewalks or approaching damaged military equipment after Russian troops leave the area. Dmytro Zhyvytskyy warned on Friday in the Telegram messaging app that locals were still in danger because of mines and other ammunition left behind by Russian forces. In a message apparently addressed to residents of the area, Zhyvytskyy said that any explosions in the area in the short term are likely to be the sounds of rescuers and working minesweepers working to deactivate ammunition and other explosives. He said earlier this week that Russia no longer controls any settlements in the region.

BRUSSELS – The European Union (EU) has imposed sanctions on two adult daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of a new package of measures aimed at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to two EU officials. The EU has included Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova in the up-to-date list of people facing asset freezing and travel bans. The two EU officials from different EU member states spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the updated sanctions list has not yet been published. The move from the European bloc follows a similar move two days earlier than the United States. – By Samuel Petrequin and Raf Casert in Brussels.

BRUSSELS – Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger and two top European Union officials are in Kyiv seeking support for the bloc in war-torn Ukraine. Heger tweeted on Friday that he, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief had come up with proposals for trade and humanitarian aid for President Volodymyr Zelensky and his government. Part of that, Heger says, is “to offer options for transporting grain, including wheat.” Ukraine is a major global supplier of grain and Russia’s war against Ukraine is creating shortages, especially in the Middle East. He added that all three wanted to help Ukraine move towards closer ties with the EU by “creating a group of reforms”. Ukraine applied for EU membership, but was already in dire need of reform, especially to eliminate rampant corruption, years before Russian troops invaded in February.

LONDON – The British Ministry of Defense has estimated that at least some of the Russian forces that had withdrawn from northern Ukraine will be transferred to the eastern Donbass region to continue fighting. In a daily update, the ministry says many of these forces will need significant replenishment before they are ready to deploy further east, with any massive redeployment from the north likely to take at least a week. He says Russian bombardment of cities in the east and south continues and Russian forces have advanced further south than the strategically important city of Izium, which remains under their control.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Latvia says it has blacklisted 15 Russian and Belarusian nationals on the grounds that their activities pose a threat to the nation’s national security. A list of nine Russians and six Belarusians was provided by the Latvian State Security Service – the counterintelligence service – to Interior Minister Marija Golubeva. The State Security Service said Friday that it included individuals “who may be involved in obtaining information or providing support for Russia’s foreign policy interests.” He says that among them are those who, despite the crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, express their support for the Kremlin. Earlier this month, Latvia announced it would close two Russian consular missions and deport a total of 13 Russian diplomats and officials currently in the Baltic state.

MOSCOW – Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov acknowledged that Russia had suffered “significant troop losses” during its military operation in Ukraine. “Yes, we have significant troop losses and it is a huge tragedy for us,” Peshkov said. Speaking in an exclusive interview with the British television network Sky on Thursday, Peshkov also hinted that the operation could end “in the foreseeable future”. He said Russian forces were “doing everything they could to end this operation”. He said: “And we hope that in the coming days, in the foreseeable future, this operation will achieve its goals or we will complete it with the negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations.”

CANBERRA, Australia – The first of 20 Bushmaster armored vehicles left Australia for Ukraine, a week after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy specifically requested Australian-made four-wheel drive vehicles. A Boeing C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft capable of carrying four Bushmasters departed from Brisbane on the east coast for Europe on Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. The 20 Bushmasters cost 50 million Australian dollars, or $ 37 million in US dollars. The vehicles are in addition to $ 116 million in Australian dollars ($ 87 million in US dollars) in military and humanitarian aid previously committed to Ukraine. Zelensky asked the Bushmasters when he made a video speech to the Australian Parliament on March 31. “And as soon as he asked, we said yes,” Morrison said.

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration announced on Thursday that it is imposing sanctions on Russia’s largest military shipbuilding and diamond mining companies. The move is blocking their access to the US financial system as the United States seeks to impose greater financial pain on President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine. Alrosa is the world’s largest diamond mining company and accounts for about 90% of Russia’s diamond mining capacity, according to the US Treasury Department. Alrosa generated more than $ 4.2 billion in revenue in 2021. Diamonds are among Russia’s top 10 non-energy exports. The State Department also said it had blacklisted United Shipbuilding Corporation, as well as its subsidiaries and board members. The moves against the two state-owned companies come a day after the United States announced it was targeting President Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters, two of Russia’s largest banks, and banned new US investment in Russia. __ LVIV, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday night that work had begun to dig into the ruins of Borodianka, another Russian-occupied city northwest of Kiev. He also said it was “much more frightening” there, with even more casualties from Russian troops. In his daily overnight address to the nation on Thursday, Zelensky said the Russians were preparing to shock people in the same way by showing corpses in Mariupol and falsely claiming to have been killed by Ukrainian defenders. Meanwhile, Bucha Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk told Ukrainian television on Thursday that investigators had found at least three locations where mass shootings of civilians took place during the Russian occupation. Fedoruk said hundreds have been killed and investigators are …