The Guardian’s picture editors have selected photographs from around the world, capturing Ukraine’s Independence Day, a Tokyo heatwave, and wildfires in England and Spain.
Ukraine marks Independence Day
In Kyiv, Ukraine, Andy Burnham met people injured in Russia’s war on Ukraine. The main military hospital is supported by the David Nott Foundation, a UK charity that has trained more than 1,000 Ukrainian surgeons, anaesthetists and other healthcare workers. The leaders of Luxembourg, Moldova and Estonia as well as António Costa, the European Council president, are also in Kyiv for the talks on Ukraine’s Independence Day, amid Russia’s latest escalation.
Oleksii Kozak, a war veteran, was helped out of the water during a sporting event aimed at encouraging injured soldiers and other people to take part in sports on the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence Day.
Heatwave and wildfires
In Tokyo, Japan, people walked past a cooling mist station during a heatwave. Temperatures have reached 39C (102.2F) in parts of the country, prompting the national meteorological agency to issue heatstroke alerts in dozens of prefectures.
In Derbyshire, UK, burnt ground at Tintwistle Moor in Glossop. One of England’s largest wildfires in recent years began on 24 June and burned an estimated 606 hectares (1,497 acres) of moorland and woodland. The fire, which was declared a major incident on 13 July, burned for more than six weeks before being brought under control. With 71% of England in drought, high-risk areas such as moorland across the Peak District are in urgent need of rain to prevent further wildfires.
In Huelva, Spain, scorched vegetation in the Sierra de Berrocal. The village of Berrocal has been devastated by a fire that was extinguished after burning through 33,000 hectares in 15 days.
Other notable images
In Middlesbrough, UK, a police officer leaves flowers for PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough at the Cleveland police HQ memorial garden. The pair were killed when a vehicle being pursued by police was driven the wrong way along a dual carriageway and collided with their marked armed response vehicle.
In Bureij, Gaza, displaced Palestinians fetch water from a cistern at a shelter camp. Gaza remains gripped by daily violence, with the Israeli military and Hamas accusing each other of violating the truce in effect since 10 October. The war flattened swathes of the territory, displaced most of the population at least once, and left hundreds of thousands of people living in tents and temporary shelters.
In Cheshire, UK, a drone view shows a dog walker casting a shadow as he walks around Heath Park Lake which is almost dry after water shortages during the prolonged drought and a lack of maintenance.
In London, UK, a Humboldt penguin is weighed during the annual weigh-in at ZSL London zoo, where every mammal, bird, reptile, fish and invertebrate across the zoo is weighed and measured.
In Beijing, China, staff carry a stretcher to move a humanoid robot that fell and could not finish a 400-metre obstacle race during the second World Humanoid Robot Games at the National Speed Skating Oval.
In Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Yasmine Fouad, the executive secretary of the UNCCD; Amina J Mohammed, deputy secretary-general of the UN; and Battsetseg Batmunkh, Mongolia’s minister for foreign affairs and president of the Cop17, speak to the media.
In Hockenheim, Germany, an aerial image shows a corn maze forming the word Glücksgefühle (feelings of happiness).
In Srinagar, Indian Kashmir, leaders and activists of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic party (PDP) shout slogans as Indian police try to stop them during a protest at the party headquarters. The protest came after the Jammu and Kashmir Electricity Regulatory Commission approved revised power tariffs, with the increase set to take effect on 1 September, amid concerns over rising household costs and the financial challenges facing the region’s power distribution utilities.
In Washington DC, US, Donald Trump waves a green flag to start the race, with Melania Trump at his side, at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix.
