UN casts doubt on Putin’s promise to supply six African countries with free grain

 UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Thursday that a “handful of donations to some countries” won’t offset the dramatic impact of Russia’s decision to leave a Black Sea deal that had allowed Ukraine to export grain worldwide. Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a summit with African leaders that Russia would replace Ukrainian exports by supplying free grain to six African countries “in the coming months”. Follow our blog to see how the day’s events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).