France is ready to assist in an operation to allow safe access to Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odessa, an adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday.

"We are at the disposal of the parties to put in place an operation which would allow access in complete safety to the port of Odessa, in other words for boats to pass through despite the fact that the sea is mined," said the adviser, who asked not to be named.

The port has been subject to a de facto blockade by Russia, and grain is waiting to be exported amid mounting fears of global food shortages, especially in developing countries.

Macron to visit Moldova and Romania:

French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Romania and Moldova next week to express France's solidarity with its European allies which are most exposed to the war in Ukraine, said Macron's Élysée office.

Macron will visit French troops in Romania on Tuesday, and then go to Moldova on Wednesday.

Asked whether Macron would visit Ukraine, Macron's office said any such visit would take place when considered most useful for Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Cholera spreads in Mariupol

The mayor of Mariupol said sanitation systems were broken and corpses were rotting in the streets.

"There is an outbreak of dysentery and cholera ... The war which took over 20,000 residents ... unfortunately, with these infection outbreaks, will claim thousands more Mariupolites," he told national television.

He called on the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to work on establishing a humanitarian corridor to allow remaining residents to leave the city, which is now under Russian control.

Start of the  Ukraine and Poland 'Open Border' project:

Ukraine and Poland have agreed to enhance capacity at the Krakovets-Korczowa checkpoint by at least 50% in the coming weeks as part of the Open Border project, including by increasing the number of lanes for trucks and creating additional pavilions for customs and passport control.

Relevant agreements were reached within the framework of intergovernmental consultations held at the Krakovets-Korczowa checkpoint.

“Increasing capacity is a matter of economic security. That is why we are launching the Open Border, which is designed to effectively address border capacity issues.

"Our priorities on this path are the reconstruction of existing and construction of new checkpoints, including access roads, as well as the introduction of joint control.

"We expect that the increase in the capacity of the Krakovets-Korczowa checkpoint will unload other checkpoints on the Polish-Ukrainian border.

"This pilot project is an unprecedented success of our cooperation, capable of paving the way for future projects. We are grateful to our Polish colleagues, especially to the Head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland Michał Dworczyk and the Minister of Infrastructure Andrzej Adamczyk, for the collaboration and readiness to take the most urgent measures necessary to stabilize logistics between Ukraine and Europe.

Spain considers sending high-tech tanks to Ukraine

Spain this week confirmed an explosive report that it is considering supplying the Ukrainian army with dozens of Leopard 2 main battle tanks.

The move would make Spain the first NATO-country to provide Kyiv with modern third-generation military vehicles and could heavily impact Ukraine’s chances in its battles against Russia in Donbas.

But the news has put Berlin in a tough spot since its lawmakers would have the final say on whether the German-built super tanks ought to roll in Ukraine or not.

“The possibility of making this shipment is on the table,” Spain’s Defence Minister Margarita Robles on Wednesday confirmed to Spanish broadcaster Cadena SER, after daily newspaper El Pais on the weekend revealed the government was considering sending around 40 Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine.

According to the paper, which cited government sources, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had made the offer to Ukraine’s President Volodomyr Zelensky already during an April 21 visit to Kyiv, but said the plans had then temporarily been put on hold due to the complexity of the operation.

The article also said that Spain had offered to provide Ukrainian troops with the necessary training to operate the tanks, which would take place in Latvia where Spain currently has 500 soldiers deployed as part of NATO’s Enhanced Advanced Presence operation.