India will attend peace talks on Ukraine in Saudi Arabia on August 5-6, where world leaders are expected to discuss President Zelenskyy’s peace plan.

    Russian shelling has damaged a landmark church in Kherson and reportedly wounded several people, including members of Ukraine’s emergency services.

    Ukrainian troops preparing for an offensive in Zaporizhia have been repelled, according to the region’s Russian-installed head.

    Wagner mercenary forces are moving closer to NATO’s eastern flank to destabilise the military alliance, Poland’s prime minister says.   

    Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy has said western sanctions were impacting Russian food and fertiliser exports.

    “Until the illegitimate obstacles artificially created by the West affecting Russian economic operators’ ability to supply agricultural products are eliminated, it will hardly be possible to restore the normal functioning of supply chains and address other global food security issues,” he told the UN Security Council.

    A Moscow court fined Apple 400,000 roubles ($4,274) for not deleting “inaccurate” content about what Russia calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine on apps and podcasts, Russian news agencies reported.

    The TASS news agency said it was the first time Apple had been fined for that offence. Interfax said Apple had not deleted applications and podcasts with incorrect information about the conflict in Ukraine.

    Interfax cited the court as saying that the offending content included information “aimed at involving minors in illegal activities in order to destabilise the political situation in the Russian Federation”.

    Apple did not respond to an emailed request for comment. The company paused all product sales in Russia shortly after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, and limited its Apple Pay service in Russia.

    Food blockades must never be used in conflict, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says after Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea grain export deal with Ukraine.

    “Hunger must not be weaponised,” Blinken told the UN Security Council in New York.

    He presented a joint declaration that more than 80 countries had signed. They pledged to take action to end the use of civilian starvation as a tactic in war.

    “I urge all member states to join this communique,” Blinken added.

The EU has banned drone sales to Belarus while adding several prominent state TV presenters to its sanctions list over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Minsk’s crackdown on the opposition.

The latest measures target a further 38 regime figures and three state-owned entities, including leading “propagandists” on state television, prosecutors and prison officials.

To try to reduce the flow of goods to Russia that could be used on the battlefield in Ukraine, the EU banned the export of aircraft engines and drones to Belarus.

The 27-nation bloc also tightened restrictions on the sale of semiconductors, camera equipment and other technology that could help Moscow’s war effort.

    Since the start of the year, Russia has enlisted more than 230,000 additional personnel into the army, Moscow’s Deputy Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said.

    This year, Moscow has ramped up military recruitment to beat back an ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive and hold previously captured territories.

    “According to the Ministry of Defence, from 1 January to 3 August… a total of more than 231,000 people have been accepted for contract service,” said Medvedev.

    Moscow hopes to lure Russians to join the army with financial incentives instead of beginning a formal mobilisation drive.

While authorities have not disclosed their targets, various estimates say Moscow could be trying to recruit about 400,000 people.