Russia Ukraine war latest: First lady Olena Zelenska highlights ‘worst-case scenario’ amid Putin’s invasion

As if on cue, the haunting wail of the air-raid siren sifts through the sunshine as we pull up to the checkpoint by the presidential complex in Kyiv.

Like swathes of Ukraine, the contours of this heavily guarded compound have been re-carved by President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. Instead of a sweeping pedestrian boulevard leading to 10 Bankova – Ukraine’s 10 Downing Street – the complex is a disorientating labyrinth of blast walls, sandbags, and soldiers.

Inside this bunker, it is as quiet and dark as a sunken cathedral. The windows are boarded up and filters cover each light casting an eerie muted glow. Sandbags, like used tissues, are wedged between marble columns. A chandelier which is not switched on, crowns the sweeping stairwell which leads up to makeshift barricades punctured by embrasures.

It feels like the presidential compound and its inhabitants are poised and prepared. Including the First Lady – Olena Zelenska – whom we are here to meet.

Bel Trew sits down with the first lady in a wide-ranging interview discussing her work rebuilding Ukraine in the middle of war – and the pressures on her family:

Polish and Lithuanian leaders held an urgent meeting Thursday in a strategically sensitive area where their NATO nations border Belarus and the Russian territory of Kaliningrad, warning that they are bracing for provocations from Moscow and Minsk in the area.

The meeting came two days after two Belarusian helicopters flew briefly at low altitude into Polish air space, in what was viewed as a provocative move. Both nations on NATO’s eastern flank have increased their border security following the arrival of thousands of Russia-linked Wagner group mercenaries just across their borders in Belarus after an aborted mutiny in Russia in June.

“Russia and Belarus are increasing the pressure on the borders, increasing the number of their provocations, and we must be aware that the number of these provocations will grow,” Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at a news conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.

The Belarusian foreign ministry denied that its country’s helicopters entered Poland. Local Polish residents posted photos on social media of helicopters with Belarusian insignia flying above.

They met in Suwalki, a town in the Suwalki Gap, a sparsely populated stretch of land running 96 kilometers (60 miles) along the Polish-Lithuanian border. Also known as the Suwalki Corridor, the stretch of territory links the three Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia with the rest of the NATO alliance. It separates Belarus, an ally of Russia, from Kaliningrad, a heavily militarized exclave of Russia located on the Baltic Sea which is separated from the Russian mainland.

India will participate in Ukraine peace talks to be hosted by Saudi Arabia on August 5 and 6, a foreign ministry spokesperson said during a news briefing on Thursday.

The European Union executive said on Thursday Poland’s new law on Russian influence “continues to raise serious concerns.”

Despite criticism that it could serve as a tool to persecute political rivals ahead of a national election due this autumn, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda – an ally of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party – signed the law into force on Wednesday.

The law would, among other things, create a special committee to investigate any undue Russian influence in Poland.

A spokeswoman of the European Commission also said that risked putting Poland at odds with EU laws when the panel starts operating.

Ukrainian grain traders union UGA has increased its 2023 combined grain and oilseed crop forecast for Ukraine by almost eight million metric tons to 76.8 million tons, the union said on Thursday.

The harvest is likely to include 26.9 million tons of corn, 20.2 million tons of wheat, 5.2 million tons of barley, 13.9 million tons of sunflower seeds, 3.9 million tons of rapeseed and 4.8 million tons of soybeans, UGA said in a statement.

“The increase in this year’s harvest forecast is due to favourable weather conditions and better-than-expected crop yields, although the area planted is 2.2 million hectares less than last year,” UGA said.

UGA said it saw exports of Ukrainian grain and oilseeds at 48 million tons in the 2023/24 July-June season compared to 58 million tons in 2022/23.

The export of wheat could total 15 million tons in 2023/24 compared with 16.8 million in 2022/23, and Ukrainian corn shipments could fall to 22 million tons from 29.5 million, it said.

“UGA emphasises that in general, exports of grains and oilseeds in the new 2023/2024 season can be expected to remain at the specified level if Ukraine is able to export through its Black Sea ports, as well as if the logistics of alternative routes, including the Danube route, are improved and cheaper,” it said.

Russia left a Black Sea exports deal on July 17 after saying its demands that sanctions be eased on its own grain and fertilizer exports had not been met. Moscow also complained that not enough grain had reached poor countries.

Advertisements offering an immediate payment of over $5,000 for joining the Russian army have began popping up on the screens of Kazakh internet users amid the escalating Ukrainian conflict.

Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic bordering Russia, is home to over 3 million ethnic Russians and has traditionally been one of Russia’s closest allies. The Astana government, however, has not supported what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine, and has called for peace.

Clearly targeting Kazakhs, ads seen by Reuters feature Russian and Kazakh flags and the slogan “Shoulder to shoulder”. They promise a one-off payment of 495,000 Russian roubles ($5,300) to those who sign a contract with the Russian military, along with a monthly salary of at least 190,000 roubles ($2,000) and undisclosed extra benefits.

The ads lead to a website that offers potential recruits a chance to join the Russian army in the Sakhalin region in Russia’s Far East. The website lists its owner as the Human Capital Development Agency of the Sakhalin region, an organisation set up by the local government.

Its call centre operators said they could not comment on the ad placement, and the organisation did not reply to emailed questions. Joining military conflicts abroad for pay is illegal under Kazakh law.

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Information and Social Development did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the ads.

Fighters from the Wagner mercenary group are being moved close to Nato’s eastern flank to destabilise the military alliance, Poland’s prime minister has warned.

Wagner soldiers have begun training with the Belarus national army, prompting Warsaw to start moving more than 1,000 troops closer to the border,…