Closing summary
Nato member Romania said it has begun building air raid shelters for residents near the Ukraine border, after drone fragments were found there last week.
Foreign ministers from the G7 group of major industrialised countries condemned the staging of what they called “sham elections” by Russia in occupied Ukrainian territories.
The Polish government reportedly agreed to extend a ban on Ukrainian grain imports unilaterally, even if the current EU restrictions expire on 15 September.
The Swedish government is considering donating Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine to help repel Russian forces, Swedish public radio (SR) reported on Tuesday.
Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine was only likely to start peace talks when it ran out of resources and would use any potential cessation of hostilities to rearm again with western help. Speaking at an economic forum in Russia’s Pacific port city of Vladivostok, he said Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces had so far failed and that the Ukrainian army had sustained heavy losses.
Putin appeared to rule out any further conscritpion or mobilisation to help the war effort, claiming that 1,000-1,500 Russians were signing voluntary contracts to join the military every day.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived to Russia by armoured train to meet Putin, Pyongyang said, with face-to-face talks potentially focused on weapon sales. Experts suggest Putin is seeking artillery shells and anti-tank missiles from North Korea, while Kim is reportedly in search of advanced technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines, as well as food aid for his impoverished nation. The meeting between the two leaders could be on Wednesday.
Ukraine has recaptured several Black Sea oil and gas rigs that were seized by Russia in 2015, the country’s military intelligence service said earlier.
Updated
Romania builds air raid shelters for residents near Ukraine border
Nato member Romania said it has begun building air raid shelters for residents near the Ukraine border, after drone fragments were found there last week.
Romanian soldiers on Saturday found fragments of a drone “similar to those used by the Russian army” in the Plauru area across the border from Ukraine, AFP reports.
Bucharest has already increased measures to strengthen monitoring and airspace security after repeated Russian attacks close to its border.
Approximately 50 Romanian soldiers began building two shelters on Tuesday, the defence ministry said in a statement.
The concrete shelters are aimed at “protecting the residents” of Plauru and will be handed over to local authorities once completed, it added.
The move follows a decision by the Romanian National Committee for Emergency Situations to adopt “protection measures on the national territory in the immediate vicinity of the conflict zone in Ukraine”.
