(Bloomberg) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he expects talks with the African nations seeking to mediate in the conflict to take place in June or July just as Group of Seven leaders are gathering in Hiroshima to discuss the invasion.

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Russia is seeking to force people in occupied areas of Ukraine to enlist in its military reserves, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, Hanna Malyar, said. Fighting continues in and around the eastern city of Bakhmut, where the Russians have made some progress in the city center while Ukrainian troops have advanced by as much as 1.7 kilometers (1 mile) since Wednesday on the outskirts.

Ukraine’s Third Assault Group, made up of former “Azov” battalion soldiers, said on Telegram it has captured the western outskirts of Bakhmut, creating a bridgehead for a further advances. It said Russian reserves and several ammunition warehouses were destroyed.

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Corn traded near the lowest level since November 2021 after a two-month extension of a deal allowing Ukraine to ship crops through the Black Sea. Wheat hovered near the weakest in more than two years, while soybeans fell to the lowest since July last year.

Coming Up

• Friday: Start of Group of Seven meeting in Hiroshima, Japan

• China’s Li Hui expected in Warsaw, also Friday

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