Facts about Russia-Ukraine conflict: 22 reportedly injured in rocket attack in west Ukraine

BEIJING, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine:

Twenty-two people were injured in a rocket attack on the Ukrainian city of Chortkiv in the country's western Ternopil region on Saturday, the government-run Ukrinform news agency reported.

Four rockets, presumably fired from the Black Sea, hit Chortkiv at about 9:46 p.m. local time (1846 GMT) on Saturday, according to Volodymyr Trush, head of the Ternopil regional military administration.

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said here Saturday that the commission will finalize the assessment on granting Ukraine European Union (EU) candidate status by the end of next week, the Ukrinform news agency reported.

"The European Commission is currently preparing its recommendations -- the so-called conclusion for EU member states. We have been working on this assessment day and night," von der Leyen said at the joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "Our discussions will allow us to conclude this work by the end of next week."

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British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has pledged to continue providing military aid for Kiev while meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart here, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Saturday.

During the talks held on Friday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov urged more defensive aid from Britain, saying that "we need more heavy weapons to continue the struggle."

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The fighting in Ukraine has a significant impact on the global food markets and could leave an additional 11 to 19 million people with chronic hunger, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) warned on Friday.

FAO spokesperson Boubaker Ben Belhassen told a press briefing here that both countries involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict were major producers of agricultural commodities in the world, with a combined share of around 30 percent of global wheat exports.