Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on energy producing countries on Saturday to increase output so that Russia cannot use its oil and gas wealth to “blackmail” other nations. Addressing the Doha Forum international conference via video link, Zelensky said countries such as Qatar could make a contribution to the stabilisation of Europe. “They can do much to restore justice. The future of Europe depends on your effort. I ask you to increase the output of energy to ensure that everyone in Russia understands that no country can use energy as a weapon and blackmail the world,” he said in translated comments. Biden visits Poland after unveiling plan to wean Europe off Russian gas The month-long invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Europe’s top gas supplier, has sharpened concerns of disruption to energy supplies and increased scrutiny of European Union countries’ reliance on imported fossil fuels. Zelensky also said no country is insured against shocks from disruptions to food supply happening because of Russia’s invasion of his country. Ukraine is one of the world’s largest grain producers. “The world’s markets have not yet overcome from the repercussions of the pandemic, from the price shocks of food. No one is insured against these shocks and you cannot be insured if there is a physical scarcity of food,” he said. “Russian troops are covering fields in Ukraine for miles, they are exploding agrarian equipment.” Zelensky called on the United Nations and world powers to come to his aid, as he has in a series of other addresses given around the world since the start of the war February 24. He compared Russia’s destruction of the port city of Mariupol to the Syrian and Russian destruction wrought on the city of Aleppo in the Syrian war. “They are destroying our ports,” Zelensky said. “The absence of exports from Ukraine will deal a blow to countries worldwide.” The loss of Ukrainian wheat already has worried Mideast nations like Egypt, which relies on those exports. This week, the United States announced it will supply Europe with more liquefied natural gas to help curb reliance on Russia, and France’s Macron said there was no reason to accept Russia’s demand to pay in roubles for Russian gas, calling it “forbidden”. China’s state-run Sinopec Group suspended talks for a major petrochemical investment and a gas marketing venture in Russia, heeding a government call for caution as Western sanctions mount. Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom said on Saturday that it was continuing to supply natural gas to Europe via Ukraine in line with requests from European consumers. The company said requests stood at 109.5 million cubic metres (mcm) for March 26, up from 105.1 mcm a day earlier. US, Nato prepare for Russian nuclear incident in Ukraine Zelensky also criticised Russia for what he described as threatening the world with its nuclear weapons, raising the possibility of tactical nuclear weapons being used on the battlefield. “Russia is deliberating bragging they can destroy with nuclear weapons, not only a certain country but the entire planet,” Zelensky said. Zelensky pushed for further talks with Russia This week Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pushed for further talks with Russia as Moscow signalled it was scaling back its ambitions to focus on territory claimed by Russian-backed separatists in the east. Meanwhile, the mayor of the besieged southeastern port of Mariupol, Vadym Boichenko, said the situation in the city remained critical, with street fighting taking place in its centre. A Russian air strike that blasted open a theatre being used as a shelter in the suffering city of Mariupol killed about 300 people, Ukrainian authorities said, marking what could be the war’s deadliest known attack on civilians yet. The death toll announced Friday fuelled allegations that Moscow is committing war crimes by killing civilians, whether deliberately or with indiscriminate fire. Boichenko said he had spoken to France’s ambassador to Ukraine about options for evacuating civilians, after French President Emmanuel Macron said he would propose to Russia a plan to help people leave. Also on Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said an agreement had been reached on the establishment of 10 humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from front line hotspots in Ukrainian towns and cities. The announcement came as it was revealed that war in Ukraine has killed 136 children in the 31 days since the start of the Russian invasion, Ukraine’s office of the prosecutor general said.