TODAY: Russia and Red Cross aid mission to Ukraine agreed with Kiev; some powers remain dubious about implications of Russian presence; Kasparov thwarted in chess bid; one in nine Russians hope to emigrate; Night Wolves dance for Putin.

A Russian convoy of up to 280 trucks carrying humanitarian aid is reportedly heading for Ukraine, after Ukrainian authorities agreed to allow Russia and the Red Cross to deliver humanitarian cargo.  This comes after concerns from the West that delivering aid may serve as a pretext for military intervention; these fears are, it would seem, still alive at the European Commission and at NATO.  Moldova’s foreign ministry has urged Russia to withdraw its 1,500 troops and weapons from the separatist pro-Russian enclave of Trans-Dniester.  According to preliminary data, Russia’s GDP rose by 0.8% year-on-year in the second quarter.  Given that the average Russian spends a considerable 32% of their budget on food, the likely impact of the ban on Western agricultural imports is making life for the country’s own citizens harder, argues this op-ed.