Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy warns Egypt of food supply threat caused by Russian strikes in Black Sea

Kyiv says exports to Egypt under threat from Russian attacks; Moscow dismisses idea of Black Sea ceasefire. What we know on day 1,635Ukrainian 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 –