Ukraine's mayor of the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol has said that Russian authorities are holding "sham elections" forcing residents at gunpoint to vote. Two more cargo ships have left Ukraine via a “temporary corridor” across the Black Sea as the United Nations seeks to bring Moscow back into a deal to safeguard Ukrainian grain exports. Meanwhile the leaders of Russia and Turkey prepared to hold talks on the issue. Russia withdrew in July from an agreement brokered by the UN and Turkey a year earlier to lift its naval blockade of Ukraine’s ports. The Kremlin has confirmed that Russian president Vladimir Putin will host Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks on the grain agreement and other issues on Monday.

Source: The Irish Times September 02, 2023 00:00 UTC