Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy warns Egypt of food supply threat caused by Russian strikes in Black Sea
Summary
Kyiv says exports to Egypt under threat from Russian attacks; Moscow dismisses idea of Black Sea ceasefire. What we know on day 1,635 Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of possible food supply shortages caused by Russian strikes on cargo vessels in the Black Sea . “Ukraine is one of the largest food suppliers to Egypt and to a significant number of other countries in Africa and the Middle East. These supplies are now under serious threat because of Russia’s war,” Zelenskyy said on X. “We are already seeing a significant reduction in supplies, and this could have very unpleasant consequences due to rising prices and shortages,” he said, adding that the two countries had agreed to work on solutions. Russia on Friday dismissed the idea of a ceasefire with Ukraine in the Black Sea , saying it saw no grounds for “half-measures” that would offer a respite to the other side. In a statement, foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of “brazen acts of terrorism” against shipping, while making no mention of Russia’s own attacks. “We view these attacks (by Ukraine) as a deliberate policy aimed at destabilising civilian shipping in the Black Sea region,” Zakharova said. “At the same time, we see no signs of improvement in the situation and, consequently, no grounds for half-measures that merely grant the Kyiv regime a temporary breathing space.” Both Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks in recent weeks against commercial ships in the Black Sea, driving world grain prices higher. Zakharova’s comments followed an earlier Ukraine proposal for both sides to halt their attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea in an apparent attempt to reopen a crucial grain corridor. Kyiv is said to have made the offer through a third party. Russia has intensified its online disinformation campaign in Poland , using a dispute between Warsaw and Kyiv over second world war massacres to inflame tensions between Ukraine and its key ally, Polish officials and researchers say. The messaging, mostly posted on social media accounts in Polish, also tries to foment anger in Poland against refugees, as opinion polls show support for the far-right growing ahead of closely contested parliamentary elections in 2027. The long-running second world war dispute between Poland and Ukraine centres on the Volhynia massacres , in which Poland says Ukrainians killed about 100,000 Poles between 1943 and 1945. The dispute intensified after Zelenskyy named an army unit after insurgents who perpetrated the massacres, prompting hard-right president Karol Nawrocki to strip his Ukrainian counterpart of a top Polish honour in June. Russian authorities acknowledged Friday that some regions face new petrol shortages, as Ukraine continues to attack the country’s oil refineries to blunt Russia’s capacity to pursue the war. Russia has shut down one big refinery at Orsk – about 1,300km (810 miles) from the frontline – for six months after it was attacked this week. “The situation remains tense in several regions of the country regarding fuel supplies to service stations,” the government said in a social media post. Oil companies are “taking the necessary measures to increase deliveries to the most vulnerable regions”, it said. Russian jet-powered drones have struck a home in northern Ukraine, killing a 29-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son . This attack comes after the United Nations reported that July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since the early weeks of Russia’s invasion. At least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 wounded last month. Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones have targeted Russian infrastructure, including a major port north of Moscow. Romania found a second drone in national territory on Friday , in the south-eastern village of Plauru near the Danube border with Ukraine, the defence ministry said on Friday, after a low flying drone undetected by radar systems crashed earlier. The ministry did not specify the origins of the drone. The Nato state has seen Russian drones repeatedly breach its airspace over the last four years. Russian president Vladimir Putin told North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that Moscow and Pyongyang were cooperating across all areas to ensure regional security and stability, North Korean state media KCNA reported on Saturday. Putin said in a message to Kim marking the anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule that he was confident Russia and North Korea would continue “constructive joint work” on bilateral and international issues, KCNA said. Kim had visited Pyongyang’s Liberation Tower on Friday to pay tribute to Soviet soldiers who fought Japan in the second world war, KCNA reported. Continue reading...
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