UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday welcomed a US-announced agreement on a truce in the Black Sea between Russia and Ukraine, his spokesperson said.
"The Secretary-General welcomes the discussions and reported commitments reached in Saudi Arabia by the United States, the Russian Federation and Ukraine," Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
"Reaching an agreement on freedom of navigation in the Black Sea to ensure the protection of civilian vessels and port infrastructure, will be a crucial contribution to global food security and supply chains."
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Guterres committed to implementing an agreement by July that year, under the aegis of the UN and Turkey, to allow Ukrainian grain exports to continue via the Black Sea.
Russia withdrew from that agreement a year later. Discussions led by the United States over the last few days are also aimed at establishing a moratorium on strikes targeting energy infrastructure in Russia and Ukraine.
A senior UN official warned that continuing daily attacks and humanitarian aid cuts were hitting Ukrainian civilians hard.
Since March 1, there has not been a single day in Ukraine without an attack in which civilians were harmed, Joyce Msuya, deputy head of the UN humanitarian affairs office, told the UN Security Council on Wednesday.
"This, and the severe global funding cuts for humanitarian operations, including for Ukraine, is further reducing our capacity to provide life-saving aid," she said.
On Wednesday, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of derailing the US-brokered deal that could see the warring countries halt attacks on the Black Sea and against energy sites.
The UN humanitarian program for Ukraine this year calls for $2.6 billion in aid, but it is only 17 percent funded so far.
"Recent funding cuts have led to a reprioritization of Ukraine response efforts," said Msuya, expressing concern in particular about women and girls.
Msuya did not mention the United States, where President Donald Trump has ended most programs that had been run by the US Agency for International Development.