Hiring in the United States heated up again in May, according to government data released Friday, with the strong labor market defying expectations of a slowdown amid efforts...

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If you’re looking for a short-haul European escape for winter sun in Greece, a family ski trip in France or a cool city break in Spain, the hotel you choose to book is, of course, as much a part of the getaway as the destination itself. Whether you want to relax in tranquil surroundings after a busy day of exploring or you want to be right in the heart of the city nightlife, selecting the right hotel for you can make or break a holiday. Whether it’s Instagrammable style for an absolute steal, thoughtful design and architecture, historic glamour, or a hotel newcomer packing the coolest new rooftop bar around, Europe has a hotel to suit every traveller – and budget. Ranging from grand dames that have been delighting guests for centuries, to the new kids on the block, through big-hitting brands and boutique stays, here’s our hand-picked round-up of 20 of the best hotels in Europe. The best hotels in Europe for 2023 are: Best hotel for a mind-blowing spa: The Retreat at Blue Lagoon, Iceland Best hotel for a city break: Pulitzer Amsterdam, the Netherlands Best hotel for a romantic retreat: Manon les Suites Guldsmeden, Denmark Best hotel for wine buffs: Palacio Ludovice Wine Experience Hotel, Portugal Best hotel for foodies: São Lourenço do Barrocal, Portugal Best hotel for gin-lovers: Solar Branco Eco Estate, Portugal Best hotel for an all-inclusive family holiday: Ikos Andalusia, Spain Best hotel for a bohemian break: Montesol Experimental Ibiza, Spain Best hotel for art-lovers: Hotel El Palace Barcelona, Spain Best hotel for a seaside staycation: The Nici, UK Best hotel for a boutique spa experience: Middleton Lodge Estate, UK Best hotel for style on a budget: Mama Shelter Rennes, France Best hotel for skiers: Portetta, France Best hotel for showstopping swims: Cali Mykonos, Greece Best hotel for a wellbeing boost: Pnoé Breathing Life, Greece Best hotel for a ritzy multi-gen getaway: Amanzoe, Greece Best hotel for wildlife: Oasyhotel, Italy Best hotel for la-dolce-vita opulence: Passalacqua, Italy Best hotel for polished service: Mandarin Oriental, Czech Republic Best hotel for a flight-free escape: The Hoxton, Brussels, Belgium Best hotels in Iceland Best hotel for a mind-blowing spa: The Retreat Hotel Location: Blue Lagoon Soaking in the milky-blue, mineral-rich waters of Iceland’s Blue Lagoon is the stuff of spa-lovers’ dreams. Staying at this blow-the-budget, 60-room property, built into a lava flow at the lagoon’s shore, takes the experience up a notch. As well as access to the main lagoon, the hotel has a series of travertine terraced pools (resembling Turkey’s Pamukkale), which flow straight from the lagoon, meaning you can soak in peace, rather than having to do the selfie-stick dodge. Another USP? The atmospheric subterranean spa, ringed by ultramarine waterways, has a lava rock steam room; sultry lit-by-fire relaxation rooms; plus, spherical nests suspended waterside. As well as bookable float therapy and in-lagoon massages, there’s a cavern for a fun DIY spa “ritual”, which involves slathering yourself in algae masks and lava scrubs. Post-spa, bedrooms with duck-egg blue and leafy palettes, plus deep, egg-shaped stone bathtubs offer further relaxation. On-point dining at Michelin-starred Moss shows off Icelandic bounty, while high-energy staff can organise helicopter rides over the Reykjanes Peninsula, and guided hikes up nearby Mount Þorbjörn. Price: Doubles from £1,029 a night Book now Best hotels in the Netherlands Best hotel for a city break: Pulitzer Amsterdam Location: Amsterdam Amsterdam’s almost unrivalled when it comes to atmospheric city-centre prettiness, and The Pulitzer – which has 225 rooms spread across a rabbit warren of 25 17th- and 18th-century canal houses – fits right in. Jacu Strauss’s interiors fuse architectural beams and carved fireplaces with contemporary Dutch craftsmanship, and bedrooms with pastel, purple and gold touches (all of which, rather handily, have bike-repair kits). Top-level suites pack eccentric personality – you’ll find playable instruments hung on the wall in the music collector’s suite. As well as having Amsterdam’s Unesco World Heritage-listed waterways on the doorstep, it’s an easy walk to wonder at the works of Van Gogh, Rembrandt and Vermeer at the Rijksmuseum. Anne Frank’s house is close by and, back at the hotel, there’s a garden to retreat to for plates of burrata pistachio fusilli. Best hotels in Denmark Best hotel for a romantic getaway: Manon les Suites Guldsmeden Location: Copenhagen Manon Les Suites – about 15 minutes from Copenhagen’s Central Station, in the north of the city – provides a calming base close to lakeside strolls, yet within easy reach of the city centre. The 87-room hotel delivers a rush of Bali-inspired tropicool, thanks to a showstopping central, green-tiled swimming pool, adorned with dangling fish-shaped lighting and swinging pot plants – dips don’t get more atmospheric than this. Pared-back bedrooms have a touch of cabin cool, with wood detailing, white curtained beds (crisp Scandi, rather than old-fashioned frills and flounce), Marshall radios and a monstera plant here and there. A roof terrace, complete with a sauna and steam room, is a divine spot for R&R too. Best hotels in Portugal Best hotel for wine buffs: Palacio Ludovice Wine Experience Hotel Location: Lisbon With a stellar location in Bairro Alto, opposite the Glória tram – take in the views of Lisbon’s terracotta rooftops and the meandering Tagus River from the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara park – this wine-focused palacete (small palace) is now a contemporary haven for oenophiles. Behind a sunrise-yellow 18th-century facade, there’s a 61-room hotel, where bedrooms pair original frescos and stucco ceilings with contemporary peach and blue accents, and airy bathrooms with gilt-edged mirrors. Particularly special, rooms 210 and 310 feature original wall-to-wall blue-and-white tiling. Check-in glasses of port set the tone for a bon vivant stay, underlined by tastings, which zoom from the vineyards of the Douro Valley to the sunny south, with a dedicated-to-Portuguese-wine list, including Madeiran tinta negra and Alicante bouschet from the Algarve. Paired wine suppers take place in the Hanging Gardens-feel restaurant, Federico, and there’s a Caudalie Vinotherapy spa for crushed-cabernet scrubs. Best hotel for foodies: São Lourenço do Barrocal Location: Alentejo In Alentejo’s rural interior, two hours’ drive from Lisbon and surrounded by ancient olive groves and vineyards, is the 19th-century whitewashed farmstead São Lourenço do Barrocal. Family-run for generations, since being transformed into a boutique hotel a few years ago, it’s established itself as one of Portugal’s best. Orange trees line a cobbled central street, with 40 bucolic rooms and cottages sprinkled either side. Decor is wonderfully hushed, with terracotta brick floors, sage-coloured shutters and botanical touches. Fans of the farm-to-table ethos are spoilt, with opportunities to gen up on wine and olive oil production, and the nuances of the estate’s terroir (granite and schist soils), while Alentejano chef José Júlio Vintém serves locally farmed, acorn-fed black pig, fresh goat’s cheese and traditional breads at the field-to-fork restaurant. A monastic-feel spa is a real mellower, as are dips in the 20m outdoor pool and stargazing trips in the nearby Alqueva Dark Sky Reserve. Best hotel for gin-lovers: Solar Branco Eco Estate Location: São Miguel, Azores This boutique home-away-from-home is the ideal base to explore this Azorean isle, where jewel-hued crater lakes pepper the volcanic landscape, and whales traverse the waves offshore. With eight minimal-chic rooms in a country house, and reimagined outbuildings on the remote São Miguel island, this is a restful retreat just a few minutes’ drive from downtown Ponta Delgada and the airport. Solar Branco also has a sustainable ethos – think breakfast spreads of locally grown pineapples, avocados and strawberries, plus slabs of Sao Jorge cheese, and eggs from the chickens on site; rewilded grounds; an organic kitchen garden, and soon-to-be-activated electricity and water trackers in bedrooms. The hotel’s gin-enthusiast owners are also the proprietors of The Gin Library – a 1,140-strong gin collection meets speakeasy and masterclass space. A complimentary “gin o’clock” tipple is included nightly, meaning guests can sample the likes of Canadian lavender Silver Fox and CBD-infused Colorado High gin (from Silent Pool distillery in Surrey) on the bar’s suntrap terrace. Best hotels in Spain Best hotel for art-lovers: Hotel El Palace Barcelona Location: Barcelona With more museums and galleries than you can shake a stick at, Barcelona is catnip for fans of art. This grande dame hotel – close to the city’s Gothic quarter – first opened as Barcelona’s Ritz in 1919, attracting art-world royalty and actual royalty. Today, the 120 neoclassical-inspired rooms at the revamped El Palace Barcelona still cater to an arty crowd. The Versailles-look Great Hall doubles up as a rotating gallery, where bold works from Iñigo Manterola and Ana Paúl have been displayed. Top suites take inspiration from artists, including Joan Miró (dark wood and gold touches nod to his primary-colour-based surrealist works) and Dali (the suite where the artist used to stay for extended periods has a canopied bed, red chinoiserie-style wardrobe and restored sunken Roman bath). Further draws include a vast garden rooftop, which has a pergola draped in orange-blossom and its own telescope to ogle Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia from on high, plus Amar Barcelona, where former El Bulli chef Rafa Zafra whips up seafood in the dark-blue and gold-columned surrounds. Best hotel for an all-inclusive family holiday: Ikos Andalusia Location: Estepona Providing the ultimate clap back to the dreaded “I’m bored” refrain is this 411-room resort on the sun-kissed coastline between Marbella and Estepona. A standout kids’ club is packed to the gills with arts-and-crafts activities, water sports, summer football academies (coached by ex-Premier League players) and musical sing-along sessions. Plus, there are nine palm-fringed swimming pools and seven restaurants (Asian through Spanish) to keep even the most hard-to-please guests happy. While the resort bubble has enough spaces, including an Anne Sémonin spa and bars with cocktails dreamt up by Marian Beke of Shoreditch’s Gibson, to ensure adults come back refreshed – exploring is encouraged with a day’s complimentary hire of a Tesla and a “dine out” concept, encompassing local restaurant visits. Best hotel for a bohemian break: Montesol Experimental Ibiza Location: Ibiza Long a favourite of hippy hedonists, the historic Montesol, in Ibiza Town’s main Paseo Vara de Rey square (favourite of Pink Floyd and Orson Welles), is packing fresh verve, thanks to a takeover and transformation by hip hotelier Experimental Group and designer-of-the-moment Dorothée Meilichzon. As well as a kick-back-and-relax rooftop bar for cava-topped hanami spritzes and Ibizan rooibos iced teas at sundown, expect celestial design touches, such as moon carvings, starry alcoves and brass suns. The 33 photogenic bedrooms come with puzzle-look zellige-tiled cabinetry, while walls have a beachy texture through hand-pressed shell imprints. As for food, enjoy delights such as top-notch tapas, watermelon and feta salad, squid brioche with lime mayo, patatas bravas and torrija (a Spanish bread pudding) with vanilla ice cream. Best hotels in the UK Best hotel for a seaside staycation: The Nici Location: Bournemouth Checking into this Miami-inspired hotel, moments from the golden sands of Bournemouth’s West Cliff, could be just the ticket for your next staycation. Not only is the hotel mere steps away from one of the UK’s finest beaches, its 30m outdoor pool is a joy – featuring mermaid-shimmer tiling, and ringed by bubblegum-pink parasols. Crucially, given the British weather, the pool is heated, and if you splash out on a curtained cabana, charming pool assistants will appear to offer chilled pineapple slices throughout the day. As for dining, golden palm-tree-adorned South Beach restaurant does Caesar salads and surf ’n’ turf. The 88 white and forest-green bedrooms deliver holiday vibes, with Art Deco-style drinks trolleys, pineapple-shaped glassware and ready-to-pour Whitebox negronis and cosmos. Miami nice, indeed. Best hotel for a boutique spa experience: Middleton Lodge Estate Location: North Yorkshire Proving you don’t have to jet overseas for a superlative spa break is this family-run estate, at the edge of England’s rugged Yorkshire Dales. As well as a walled garden, walkways fringed by rambling roses and rich-on-romance boutique accommodation housed in attractive stone farm buildings, there’s an appealing, earthy-feel Forest Spa. Framed by ancient woodland where lilting birdsong fills the air, there’s a spring-fed, al-fresco, 15m, heated swimming pool, with teal-striped loungers – there’s a touch of South of France allure here. There’s also as a meadow-view sauna and chilly tadelakt plunge pool. A relaxing pool house, complete with flickering fireplace, keeps things grounded with natural, neutral tones, seed-pod-inspired ceramics and floral prints. VOYA and Aromatherapy Associates treatments, which take place in cabins surrounded by wildflowers, ramp up the pamper levels. Price: Doubles from £185 a night Book now Best hotels in France Best hotel for style on a budget: Mama Shelter Rennes Location: Rennes, Brittany Mama Shelter, known for its more-is-more style, has outdone itself in Rennes. Set in lively square Place des Lices, inside a stone-fronted, listed building, this 119-room hotel has design exuberant enough to have Iris Apfel chortling with glee. Think ballet-slipper-pink bedrooms – some with original mouldings and fireplaces; bathrooms in monochrome zebra-stripe tiles, and a salmon-hued nana-chic dining room where everything, from tieback curtains to banquettes, are upholstered in sea creatures (and, yes, it’s where seafood platters are served). Entertainment wise, you’re spoilt for choice, with basement karaoke rooms, and a statement indoor swimming pool hung with wave-decorated ceiling canopies and neon artwork. There’s also a hammam, sauna and Mama Skin Spa. At sundown, head to the rooftop bar for grapefruit-gin cocktails and spectacular views of Rennes’s mediaeval bell towers and half-timbered houses. Best hotel for skiers: Portetta Location: Courcheval Ski in, ski out Portetta is the Alpine hotel to know. It’s located in Courchevel Moriond (1650), which is part of the Three Valleys, with more than 600km of runs, and the 30 cossetting rooms are upscale and inviting, with wood-panelled walls and crisp, white bedding. Plus, six loft rooms have roaring fires. There’s also a spa for post-run legs, with Bamford and Oskia treatments, As for fuelling up apres ski, head to Cucina Angelina, helmed by Angela Hartnett. The food is sensational – think the likes of pumpkin ravioli and sage butter with amaretti, alongside classic fondue and raclette. Backcountry ski touring trips through La Vallée des Avals – guided by experts from Le Bureau des Guides – can be arranged. Look out for marmots and ibex along the way. Price: Doubles from £465 a night Book now Best hotels in Greece Best hotel for show-stopping swims: Cali Mykonos Location: Mykonos While Greek isle Mykonos might be best known for its non-stop party atmosphere, Kalafati Beach on its more secluded eastern side – around 25 minutes from the airport – is home to Cali Mykonos, a 40-villa property carved out of the cliffside. Swimmers are spoilt for choice here, as each suite – which nails soothing Cyclades, with sleek lines and natural tones – has its own private pool. There’s also a 110m-long saltwater infinity pool (over double the size of an Olympic pool), which snakes along the cliff edge, with views of the shimmering Aegean. If that isn’t enough, head to the secluded private beach for peaceful, private sea dips. Another highlight is Lefteris Lazarou’s traditional Greek food, and a clever menu of mythology-inspired cocktails, including the likes of ‘the wings of thyme’, an olive-oil-infused tequila number with refreshing rosemary and lime. Best hotel for a wellbeing boost: Pnoé Breathing Life Location: Crete Living up to its name, Pnoé (meaning “breath”), this adults-only retreat on vibrant Karteros Beach, just outside ancient-ruin hotspot Heraklion, has been designed to foster pause. While the coastal locale – with craggy peaks and Cretan sea views – has a buzz to it (and is close to the airport, so no long-transfer faff), once you arrive at Pnoé, it’s all about powering down. Bowl fires light the entrance lobby, and on-arrival hot towels are infused with calming herbs. Hushed architecture is built in natural wood and Milatos stone, and the 60 suites, with private stepped pools, have earthy palettes. As well as top-notch spa treatments (Germaine de Capuccini, Dr Barbara Sturm), the hi-tech wellbeing space – where a stepping-stone walkway reinforces a go-slow state of mind – has a hyperbaric oxygen therapy pod, a Zerobody dry float (for the benefits of soaking without getting wet), one-to-one breathwork sessions, and a waterfall pool. There’s a private section of beach to laze on, fringed parasols by a teardrop-shaped main pool, and Thymises by Peskesi restaurant for authentic Cretan food, too. Best hotel for a ritzy multi-gen getaway: Amanzoe Location: Peloponnese For those able to splash serious cash on a family getaway, make like the cast of Glass Onion, and bed down at Amanzoe in the Peloponnese, not far from Porto Heli. Stunning Grecian scenery – olive groves paired with turquoise Aegean – is matched by 12 villas (with one to nine bedrooms) designed by architect James Tuttle. Each has Acropolis-of-one’s-own vibes, with stone-walled courtyards, smooth columns, marble flooring and private plunge pools. One even has its own James Turrell installation, Skyspace, with ceiling aperture for straight-from-room stargazing. As well as a private chef and villa host to keep things running in always-smooth Aman style, the beach club has a plethora of pools to keep the whole gang happy; watersports galore, and boat trips to visit car-free island Hydra, or to explore Spetses’s neoclassical mansions, can be arranged. Price: Doubles from £1,028 a night Book now Best hotels in Italy Best hotel for wildlife: Oasyhotel Location: Tuscany Wolves howl, honey buzzards soar overhead and green woodpeckers can be heard tap-tapping against tree trunks in swathes of regenerated forest – it’s Tuscany but not as you know it. Just an hour from Florence, 16-lodge Oasyhotel – within the 1,000ha, WWF-protected Oasi Dynamo Reserve in the San Marcello Piteglio mountains – offers perhaps Europe’s most exciting safari experience. On guided nature walks through the former-hunting-reserve-turned-protected-land, it’s possible to see wild boar, deer and goshawks, while wolf-spotting safaris offer an after-dark thrill. A raft of other activities span foraging, organic farm volunteering, wild swimming in a private lake, and spa treatments overlooking the water. Smart, pitch-roofed lodges, made from sustainably sourced wood, give a wrapped-in-the-forest feel, and the majority of produce used at the two farm-to-table restaurants comes from within a kilometre (grown on site or sourced nearby). Best hotel for la-dolce-vita opulence: Passalacqua Location: Lake Como It’s impossible not to get swept up in la dolce vita in this 18th-century mansion, which was once the private home of composer Vincenzo Bellini and is now an opulent 24-room boutique hotel. A 45-minute drive from Milan, in mountainside village Moltrasio, the hotel’s baroque-wow bedrooms feature restored frescoes, soft Beltrami bedding and mirrored chests, which open to reveal minibars, while Italian marble bathrooms are kitted out with Dyson hair appliances. Meanwhile, stairways are adorned with Barovier & Toso Venetian glass chandeliers. Outside, seven acres of jasmine-scented and olive-grove-filled gardens – including a swimming pool terrace and bocce court – tumble down towards the shores of Lake Como, where a duo of private boats are on hand to whisk guests across the water. Service is as sublime as the shimmering views, and activities include gelato-making and classic Italian film screenings under the starry sky. Best hotels in Czech Republic Best hotel for polished service: Mandarin Oriental Location: Prague While the setting – a former monastery dating back to the 14th century in Prague’s historic centre, the Malá Strana – might be serene, the reception at this 99-room property is always warm. Affable staff manage to appear at just the right time, proffering mini fluffy robes for kids, or providing insider tips on visiting the next-door Czech Museum of Music. Asian-inspired rooms have arched ceilings, muted palettes lifted by bursts of red and blue, and stone-clad bathrooms. The spa is also a real one-off – housed inside a former Renaissance Chapel, there’s a glass floor under which the original remains of a Gothic church can be seen, while intuitive therapists deliver the likes of Qi and four-hands massage. Best hotels in Belgium Best hotel for a flight-free escape: The Hoxton, Brussels Location: Brussels For city-break fans who prefer to dip in and out of the action, The Hoxton Brussels – housed inside a brutalist-inspired tower building in Brussels’s Northern Quarter – is a strong choice. Yes, it’s in the business district but, actually, it’s got a lot going for it: top live-music venue Le Botanique is next door, the iris-filled botanical gardens are close by, and it’s a 15-minute walk to the city centre (or you can hop on a free-to-use Cowboy ebike). As for the hotel itself, it riffs on its heritage and locale, with a 1970s brutalism-meets-botany aesthetic – think vintage chrome modular furniture and bedrooms with striped headboards, lily-shaped lighting and velvet sofas. There are two vibey restaurants: Peruvian-inspired Cantina Valentina, and Tope for rooftop tacos and weekend DJ sets. Those arriving by train – from a stay in another of The Hoxton’s European properties – can bag a €20 (£17) discount off each stay by taking advantage of “The Good Rate”. Handy, as the hotel’s only 15 minutes from the TGV, which has connections to the likes of London and Paris. Read more of our Europe hotel reviews: Best romantic breaks in Europe Europe’s best family-friendly hotels Best winter sun hotels in Europe Read more about Europe travel: Europe’s best road trips Best river cruises in Europe Best Northern Lights holidays Read More The UK’s 10 favourite beaches and seaside holidays in Europe Eight of Europe’s best road trips to try in your lifetime 10 of the world’s most beautiful Unesco World Heritage Sites The best European holiday destinations to travel to by train from London The 8 best winter sun holidays to book for 2023/24 8 best family adventure holidays in Europe that adults, teens and kids will love

Let TikTok sensation Alix Earle show how to do cutout swimsuits right

BEIJING (Reuters) -Profits at China's industrial firms extended gains for a third month in October, adding to signs of a

The Dragonflight Keystone Master Mount was datamined months ago, giving fans their first glimpse at the mount.

Elaborate marriage proposals are amazing, and can create some of the most memorable moments in life – until they go wrong. That’s what appeared to happen to content creator Gray Fagan, who recently proposed to his girlfriend, Chloe, on a hot air balloon. In a 12 November video, Fagan whips out a ring while he and Chloe are high in the sky, amid a crowd of fellow balloon tourists. What happened next didn’t make anybody very happy, by the looks of things. Or did it...? He said: “Um, Chloe, I’ve known you for six years now. I, uh, have known since the day I met you that I wanted you to be my friend and partner forever. “And today I thought on this beautiful day, in this beautiful place, I would make it official and ask you to be my wife.” Rather than saying yes, Chloe looked shocked and close to tears, repeatedly pushing the ring away and saying: “Please stop.” Fagan was optimistic in the video caption, writing: “Technically she never said no.” However, there's a catch. The creator’s profile says he barters in “scripted chaos”. Could it be a total fake? Many in the comments seem to have interpreted it as genuine. One person wrote: “Would have been a good idea to bring a parachute instead of a picnic basket.” Another said: “The people behind you probably want to jump from second hand embarrassment.” A third added: “The moment of silence was deafening.” However, others speculated that the video is scripted. If it was, Fagan’s got the attention he wanted, with more than 35m people having watched it on TikTok and 151,000 likes on Instagram. One person said: “This is scripted but ok lol.” Another wrote: “My skin is crawling. Absolutely brilliant video once again.” And a third person said: “The amount of people have posted and commented on this on Twitter thinking it’s real worries me greatly.” Sounds like they know something the others don’t. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

'These men who I have no idea who they are, talking about me as if they have any right at all to do so,' Britney Spears said

As if on cue, the haunting wail of the air-raid siren sifts through the sunshine as we pull up to the checkpoint by the presidential complex in Kyiv. Like swathes of Ukraine, the contours of this heavily guarded compound have been re-carved by President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. Instead of a sweeping pedestrian boulevard leading to 10 Bankova – Ukraine’s 10 Downing Street – the complex is a disorientating labyrinth of blast walls, sandbags, and soldiers. Inside this bunker, it is as quiet and dark as a sunken cathedral. The windows are boarded up and filters cover each light casting an eerie muted glow. Sandbags, like used tissues, are wedged between marble columns. A chandelier which is not switched on, crowns the sweeping stairwell which leads up to makeshift barricades punctured by embrasures. It feels like the presidential compound and its inhabitants are poised and prepared. Including the First Lady - Olena Zelenska - whom we are here to meet. “I would like to say, ‘I’m fine’ but no one can say this phrase now in Ukraine,” she replies, “How are you?” the simplest of introductory questions that lands a bit limply under the current circumstances. Watch the interview trailer below The full interview will be available to watch on The Independent’s website and on your smart TV from August 7. “We are all tense. We are all waiting for victory. We are trying, and I am also trying, to keep our hand on the pulse. To wait for good news and to not lose hope,” she adds, with the briefest flick of a weary smile. Weariness is perhaps an apt word. It underpins her main message of this interview: concern that as Putin’s war grinds into its 18th bloody month, the international community might begin to lose interest or perspective on the battles chewing up Ukraine, with deadly consequences for everyone. “If the aggressor wins now, it will be the worst-case scenario for all of humanity,” she says with a quiet assurance. “This will mean that global deterrents aren’t working. This will mean that anyone with power, strength and sufficient financial capacity can do whatever they want in this world.” “We keep hearing from our Western partners that they will be with us as long as it takes. I would like to say that the word ‘long’ is not the word we should use. We should use the word ‘faster’.” Olena Zelenska, 45, I would argue, has one of the trickiest jobs in the world. War aside, like so many women thrust into a public spotlight that she never sought, she faces unrelenting scrutiny. The former comedy scriptwriter turned First Lady-at-war cannot smile too much, lest she be seen as not taking the devastation of the invasion seriously. But she can’t smile too little, or she is labelled ungrateful. There are endless discussions about her clothes (she was named among the best dressed at the coronation of King Charles III which she attended). Ukrainian diplomats tell me quietly on the sidelines, she is almost always asked about being a mother-of-two, a wife, a crutch-like appendage to her husband Volodymyr Zelensky, 45, over the crucial work she is doing on the ground. She is inevitably tossed the emotional questions, that interviewers may shy from asking the men. And so today, as we sit in the heart of the country’s operations hub, in the wake of an air raid, our hour-long conversation centres on her work. This ranges from building a network of hospitals and prosthetic centres treating an estimated 20,000 new amputees in the country - to launching mental health programmes to smash stigmas on trauma. We also talk about her latest passion: changing the role of first ladies and gentlemen around the world from individual “decorative” accessories to something more. She wants to “set a trend” where presidential partners “communicate, exchange experiences, create joint projects”. She speaks warmly about specific families that keep her motivated in her work – including a Ukrainian grandmother who “knocked on every door” to find her granddaughter who, like thousands of other children, had been disappeared into Russia by soldiers. Finding the tens of thousands of children that Ukraine accuses Russia of abducting is a personal mission for the first lady, which she calls “one of the biggest wounds in Ukraine”. “We are trying to get our children back. It is hard to find an area of children’s life that the war has not touched.” That includes the lives of her own children, who are forced to live separately from their father for security reasons – a topic she tentatively opens up about. “Maybe [now] it is more frequent that we can see each other altogether but these are still isolated instances,” she says, with a quiet sadness. “I am sure that we will pass this test.” All of this is a far cry from the woman who four years ago said she struggled with public speaking after advising her husband, then a colleague in their comedy troupe, against running for president. In fact, she didn’t even know he was going to go through with it: like the rest of the country, Mrs Zelenska found out about his presidential bid after a New Year’s Day television special in 2019. Mr Zelensky apparently “forgot” to mention the life-altering decision to his wife. But ever since President Putin ordered his troops to march on Kyiv – in an instant making her husband the war-time protector of Ukraine – she has put her fears aside. He donned military khaki and, standing outside the very building we are in, vowed never to flee Ukraine. She morphed into frontline ambassador, rallying lifesaving international support for a country in the grips of Europe’s bloodiest war in generations. She became one of the architects of the rebuilding of this nation, ravaged by a 2,000km frontline, even while the fighting goes on. If Ukraine doesn’t rebuild during the war it is “wasting time” even if there is a threat it gets destroyed again, she insists. “Wherever there are people, there should be reconstruction as soon as possible”. The truth is Mrs Zelenska could have left Ukraine permanently, like the wives of other Ukrainian politicians (under martial law only women can evacuate the country). Effectively a single parent now, she would have been forgiven for taking a step back to focus on her children. But she did not. Last July she addressed Congress, in November she spoke to the British parliament and in January she was at Davos in Switzerland. In all her speeches she pulls no punches. “We know that the youngest girl who was raped by the Russian occupiers is four years old. The oldest is 85 years old,” she told Westminster bluntly while urging the UK to help establish a Special Tribunal so Russia can face justice for its crimes. Back in Ukraine, she rallies the Ukrainian public through her social media accounts, urging families to “stay strong”. Like this week when Russian shelling eviscerated an apartment block in the southern city of Kryvyi Rih, which is also her and her husband’s hometown. And now here, in the presidential palace where her husband also works, she is eloquent and concise when talking. “All the fears, all the phobias, all the unpleasant moments that we experienced in peacetime fade into the background,” she says, explaining her transition to a public figure in war. “The fact that I said that I don't really like public speaking - does not matter now. I have to be effective in my role to support the president and the people of Ukraine.” And with a pause and shy smile, she adds “I hope they feel that I am”. As we meet in Kyiv, Ukraine is careering towards another catastrophe of this bloody war: hunger. In July, Russia turned its artillery turrets on Ukraine’s food and farming infrastructure after pulling out of a United Nations-brokered grain deal which allowed the safe exports of Ukraine’s grains and oils via the Black Sea. Officials from the UN told me that at the start of this year, despite the war, the World Food Programme still purchased food from Ukraine to feed the most vulnerable in places like sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. And so it is unthinkable that Ukraine, the “breadbasket of the world”, may not be able to even feed its own population. But grain storages, ports and farmlands are on fire right now. This is having global consequences. Wheat prices have already soared, even driving up our shopping lists in the comfort of Western Europe. The UN has warned of famine and destitution. Mrs Zelenska reminds me this is only the latest in a series of humanitarian crises in Ukraine that ripple past its borders. In June the bombing of the Kakhovka Dam, which Kyiv blames on Moscow, unleashed the waters of one of Europe’s largest reservoirs over southern Ukraine – causing one of the worst ecological disasters on the continent in recent history. “Today's stage is another stage,” she says grimly of the attacks on food. “Ukrainians understand that our enemy is capable of inventing of any challenges for us.” She says Ukrainians have adapted and are now well prepared for any new horrors on the horizon. “The most popular Telegram [instant messaging] channel in Ukraine is not an entertainment channel, it is one that publishes the fastest news about the whereabouts and consequences of shelling and what is happening in relation to the war.” “The popularity of this Telegram channel speaks for what Ukrainians live by. We are no longer surprised by anything,” she adds echoing a popular refrain in the country. The cumulative consequences of these myriad crises in Ukraine are why the first lady says she decided to tap her contacts and create her own humanitarian aid organisation. The Olena Zelenska Foundation was eventually launched in September in New York with a star-studded guest list including US former secretary of state and first lady, Hillary Clinton, and Matt Damon. Among several projects, so far it has rebuilt hospitals in recently de-occupied areas like Izyum near the border with Russia and delivered tens of thousands of laptops to children, as a third of all schools in Ukraine are closed. “It seemed to me that just talking on international platforms is not enough for the first lady,” she continues, her eyes lighting up. “I realised that I could put together this puzzle, unite those who want to help and those who need help.” This is part of her wider mission to redefine what it means for everyone married to a president. She wants the spouses of world leaders to stop waving prettily on the sidelines and work together to build their own community to do good. “We can no longer perform only a decorative function. We cannot just stand nicely next to the head of state. First ladies and gentlemen can try harder and do much more.” “I hope this is the case, that we have set a new trend.” And so despite being at war, this September she will host a third “Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen” in Kyiv where she will gather “her colleagues” in person and virtually. This session will focus on mental health, a topic which is already “very painful for Ukraine” and the world, she says. Ukraine is, in many ways, quite traditional. And since Moscow’s forces marched across the borders on 24 February, there has been societal pressure for everyone to have a stiff upper lip. There is a ‘Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori’ attitude, even if that means dying on the inside for your country. This war is brutal. It is bloody. It is frightening. Artillery – indiscriminate and terrible – is relentless. Drones hit so fast that you cannot hear them coming. Banned weaponry like cluster munitions, in a single rocket, can shower their terror on territory the size of a football pitch. Everyone lives in a world of averages and percentages of survival, a ruse to feel better that is obliterated by the deadly whistle of a single shell. An unknown number of people have been killed, there is no accurate casualty count. There could be significantly more than 100,000 missing people, one Ukrainian top prosecutor told me in February. We have also documented horrific testimonies of torture and rape at the hands of Russian soldiers adding to this wartime mental health epidemic (Russia denies all the accusations of committing crimes). Mrs Zelenska says Ukraine’s General Prosecutor’s Office is currently investigating a little more than 100 cases of sexual violence against men and women, but the true number of cases is hundreds of times that. “The main problem is that people are afraid to speak about this, afraid of judgement, afraid of gossip. They are afraid that their life will be destroyed,”’ she adds, describing a new programme called “How Are You?” which assists people in opening up and getting psychological support. “This is the most stigmatised crime of all the war crimes. It is terrible because victims pay with their whole lives. Some of them say that ‘it would be easier if they killed me, because what happened to me kills me every day and never ends’. “It destroys families.” Children are not spared this torment, she continues, her most emotional point in the interview. “Robbed of their childhood” she explains, many have “lost the will to live”. “It is the most tragic thing to see when a child cannot smile, does not speak, or stops eating, these are terrible things we have to deal with now.” According to Ukraine, at least 19,500 children have been forcibly transferred to Russia, a number Mrs Zelenska tells me is a woefully low estimate – as authorities have documented “whole orphanages have been cleared out”. Russia denies it has been abducting Ukrainian children but President Putin himself has been handed an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for the alleged crime. This, the first lady says, sends a powerful “symbolic” message that the world “sees this crime… and considers [President Putin] to be a criminal.” “We hope it will have practical implications. Because they take away children who were separated from their parents during filtration, they clear out whole institutions. They simply put all the children on buses and take them to an unknown destination.” So far, Ukraine has only managed to retrieve 380 of the missing children, but Mrs Zelenska indicates there is a new coalition of international partners that will start work on retrieving the rest soon. There are rare happy stories from these tragedies which the first lady says keeps her going and motivated. She talks about meeting a girl from the eastern Donetsk region who was taken to Russia after her mother, who had a military background, was captured by Russian soldiers at a “filtration” point. The grandmother worked day and night to find her, eventually enlisting the help of Ukraine’s top prosecutors. In the end the girl was located, the mother was exchanged in a prisoner swap and by some miracle they were all reunited. “Just imagine the tragedy of this family, which was scattered by this war, not knowing where they all are for such a long time. It is difficult to fathom how you can keep going and not break down,” she says. The Zelensky family has also been scattered by this war. And reading her face, it seems she is thinking in part about her own children as she speaks about this. For the first month and a half of the war, her husband – her college sweetheart turned number one target of the entire Russian army – could not see his family at all over concern for the safety of the children. They still live separately now but can at least sporadically visit each other in the building where we conduct the interview. It is easier for her eldest, Oleksandra, now 19, who is old enough to come to the presidential office on her own and see her father as she needs, Mrs Zelenska explains. Kyrylo, still only 10, “needs a father not just once or twice a week,” she says. “To raise children, you need a constant example,” not just “video calls”, she continues. “These are not only conversations and stories about how you should act. These are immediate examples of how you behave in everyday situations, and how you solve particular problems. And, unfortunately, our children don't get much of this help now. This “confuses” her, she says, repeating that phrase a few times. “I am sure that we will pass this test,” she adds, leaning forward. “We all love each other and trust each other. We really hope that somehow all this will change, and we will be able to live a more or less normal family life.” For a second, the personal motivations for wanting the war to end peep through her near-perfect stateswoman demeanour. For an instant, there is a glimpse of an exhausted parent just wanting her family back together again. And then she clicks back to speaking about the rest of Ukraine. For all families in the country this depends on winning the war, which in turn depends on the international community, she continues. Ukraine has “no other way out” than enduring. “It is a matter of survival. That's why it's so hard because it's been going on for so long. That is why we need news that gives us hope.” And they need help to do that. The first lady is worried that some countries have started to underestimate the threat of Russia because it seems “so far away” and if Moscow wins, it will impact the world order. “Ukrainians are paying for this with the lives of their compatriots, the rest of the world just pays with its resources,” she says in a direct appeal to the international community before we bring the interview to a close. She has a string of meetings to get to about the prosthetics centre she has helped build. “Please don’t get fatigued, because we as Ukrainians have no right to get tired.” “Ukraine defends not only its interests, not only its existence, we are trying to maintain the entire democratic balance of the world.” With additional reporting by Nikol Goldman The full interview will be available to watch on independent.tv and your smart TV from August 7. To find out more about our Independent TV smart TV app click here. Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Russia should expect more drone attacks on its soil after latest Moscow strike, Ukraine warns Drones, military confusion and cracks in Putin’s authority: Ukraine’s push to sow discord in Russia’s ranks On the ground in Ukraine, there’s one weapon troops want from the UK more than any other

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