For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit .
The Conflict Observatory, which is supported by the U.S. Department of State, on Thursday released an independent, detailed assessment of the impact of Russia’s war on food storage sites in Ukraine, the department said in a statement.
An estimated 15.7% of Ukraine’s crop storage facilities have been affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the resulting conflict, either through seizure by Russia’s and Russia-aligned forces, or because facilities have been destroyed, damaged, or degraded to the point of compromising the crops contained inside.
The report notes that intentional destruction of such facilities may constitute a war crime and a violation of the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 1949.
This report and other analyses are available online at the .
Finland’s president said Thursday that he wants to make it harder for Russians to use real estate owned in the Nordic nation, usually apartments or summer cottages, as justification for obtaining travel visas, .
“Getting a visa to a country is not a subjective right for anyone, but the visa issuer always has discretion,” President Sauli Niinisto told journalists in Helsinki. “Until now, owning a property or an apartment in Finland has been perceived as a factor supporting a visa application. I don’t think it’s necessary.”
Regional newspaper Etela-Saimaa reported in August that Russian citizens purchased property in Finland at an increased rate this year despite the war in Ukraine and Western economic sanctions against Russia.
As of Sept. 1, Finland slashed the number of visas, including for tourism purposes, issued to Russian citizens to one-tenth of the typical number, a move seen as a show of solidarity with Ukraine.
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto recently told public broadcaster YLE that as a result of the new limit, Russian property owners have started to divide the ownership of their Finnish real estate among several people so more of them are eligible for visas.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors on Thursday passed a resolution demanding that Russia end its occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, diplomats at the closed-door meeting said, according to .
The resolution is the second on Russia's invasion of Ukraine passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors, and their content is very similar, though the first resolution in March preceded Russian forces taking control of Zaporizhzhia, Europe's biggest nuclear power plant.
American Nuclear Society President Steven Arndt and CEO/Executive Director Craig Piercy released a statement after the IAEA’s passed the resolution: "The American Nuclear Society applauds the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors in calling for an end to the Russian military occupation of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. A civilian nuclear power plant must not be treated as a military base or military target in any armed conflict.”
“We echo the United Nations nuclear watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors in its resolution for Russia to ‘immediately cease all actions against, and at, the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and any other nuclear facility in Ukraine,” they said in a statement provided by VOA’s U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer.
The statement added, “The adopted resolution aligns with the IAEA's calls for safety and security zones around Ukraine's nuclear facilities to safeguard plant operations and the well-being of nuclear workers."
U.S. President Joe Biden announced a new $600 million arms package to help the Ukrainian military battle Russia, according to a White House memo sent to the State Department on Thursday, Reuters reported.
Biden authorized the assistance using his Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the president to authorize the transfer of excess weapons from U.S. stocks.
The memo does not detail how the money would be used, but several sources told Reuters the package is expected to contain munitions, including more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). The package would include ammunition for howitzers, according to two sources who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to talk publicly.
The memo also mentions the money will be used for military education and training.
Washington has sent about $15.1 billion dollars in security assistance to the Kyiv government since Russia's invasion.