Manchester United fans have flocked to Old Trafford to pay tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton following his death aged 86. A book of condolence was opened at 10am on Sunday in the International Suite and supporters laid flowers and scarves and left messages for one of their most famous sons. One read: “Thank you Sir Bobby, a hero to the worldwide football family,” while a message from fan group The 1958 said: “History, dignity and integrity is what you gave to our great club. Our promise to you is to make sure it stays.” Charlton was a key member of England’s victorious 1966 World Cup team and also enjoyed great success at club level with United, who became the first English club to win the European Cup in 1968. His family announced on Saturday afternoon that he had died peacefully in the early hours of the morning surrounded by his family. United led the tributes, saying in a statement: “Manchester United are in mourning following the passing of Sir Bobby Charlton, one of the greatest and most beloved players in the history of our club. “Sir Bobby was a hero to millions, not just in Manchester, or the United Kingdom, but wherever football is played around the world. “He was admired as much for his sportsmanship and integrity as he was for his outstanding qualities as a footballer; Sir Bobby will always be remembered as a giant of the game.” Charlton made his debut for United in 1956 and went on to play 758 matches for the Red Devils, scoring 249 goals. Both were long-standing club records until they were overtaken by Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney, respectively. Manchester United are in mourning following the passing of Sir Bobby Charlton, one of the greatest and most beloved players in the history of our club Manchester United statement Charlton won three league three titles and one FA Cup at Old Trafford and, after leaving United in 1973 and becoming Preston manager, he returned to Old Trafford 11 years later as a club director. He was knighted for services to football in 1994. The statement continued: “His unparalleled record of achievement, character and service will be forever etched in the history of Manchester United and English football; and his legacy will live on through the life-changing work of the Sir Bobby Charlton Foundation. “The club’s heartfelt sympathies are with his wife Lady Norma, his daughters and grandchildren, and all who loved him.” United manager Erik ten Hag described Charlton as “a legend” and “a giant” as he paid his own tribute after his side’s 2-1 win at Sheffield United on Saturday night. A wreath was put in the centre circle as a minute’s applause was held before kick-off, while another wreath was laid at the base of the statue of Charlton, George Best and Denis Law in front of Old Trafford. “His achievements are so immense and huge – global, not only England,” Ten Hag said. “You see the facts he achieved are incredible. All the games, his titles, his trophies, the contribution he had with his goals. “I never had the honour to meet him, but I heard, despite all his trophies and games, he was so humble. A big personality and an example for all of us as a footballer and also in society.” Charlton’s European Cup success at United came 10 years after the Munich air disaster, which he and team manager Sir Matt Busby survived but which claimed the lives of eight of Charlton’s team-mates. Born in Ashington on October 11 1937, Charlton played in the World Cup final alongside his brother Jack, who died aged 85 in 2020, and won 106 caps for England, scoring 49 goals. Charlton was diagnosed with dementia and the announcement of his condition made public in November 2020, two days after his United and England team-mate Nobby Stiles died following his own battle with the illness. The official England account on X, formerly known as Twitter, wrote: “It is with a heavy heart that we have learned of the passing of Sir Bobby Charlton. “An integral part of our 1966 FIFA World Cup winning campaign, Sir Bobby won 106 caps and scored 49 times for the #ThreeLions. “A true legend of our game. We will never forget you, Sir Bobby.” Prince William, president of the Football Association, paid tribute to Charlton on social media. Writing on the official account of The Prince and Princess of Wales, William said: “Sir Bobby Charlton. First Division Champion. European Champion. World Champion. Gentleman. Legend. A true great who will be remembered forever. Thank you Sir Bobby. W.” England manager Gareth Southgate added: “One of our most iconic players, Sir Bobby Charlton’s impact on our only World Cup triumph is there for all to see. “The privilege of meeting him on several occasions allowed me to understand his personal pride and emotion in having represented England and simply confirmed in my mind his standing as one of the gentlemen of the game. “The world of football will unite in its sadness at losing an undisputed legend.” A tribute to Charlton was shown on giant screens outside Wembley on Saturday night, while England will pay a full tribute at the European Championship qualifier against Malta at Wembley on November 17. Charlton made his England debut against Scotland at Hampden Park in April 1958, just over two months after he had survived the Munich air disaster. He was not selected for England’s 1958 World Cup squad that summer, but played at the tournament in 1962, 1966 and 1970. Charlton scored three times at the 1966 World Cup, including both goals in the 2-1 semi-final victory over Portugal, and ended his England career at the age of 32 following the quarter-final exit to West Germany in 1970. Wayne Rooney broke Charlton’s scoring records for both Manchester United and England and heard the news during the Sky Bet Championship match between Middlesbrough and Birmingham at the Riverside. Birmingham boss Rooney said: “As I came out for the second half, I didn’t know what was happening. I see his image on the big screen and it hit me what had happened. “Bobby was always great with me, we had many conversations about football and life. He is a huge inspiration not just to me but to a lot of players who have played for Manchester United. “He was the first to congratulate me when I broke the record at Stoke. He came in after the game with his wife. He said congratulations – and a few more harsh words, jokingly. “He was a top human being, which is more important.” Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick, another former United player, said: “One particular memory that stands out was the 50-year anniversary of Munich. “He came into the training ground and spoke to us about the tragedy and what it meant to him. That’s 45 minutes that I will never, ever forget.” Charlton’s death means Sir Geoff Hurst is the only survivor from England’s 1966 World Cup final win over West Germany. Hurst, who hit a hat-trick in the 4-2 Wembley victory, said: “Very sad news today 1 of the true Greats Sir Bobby Charlton has passed away. We will never forget him & nor will all of football. “A great colleague & friend he will be sorely missed by all of the country beyond sport alone. Condolences to his family & friends from Geoff and Judith.” England’s current record goalscorer, Harry Kane, told Sky Sports: “It’s a sad day for English football for sure. I send my love and condolences to his friends and family. “Sir Bobby was one of England’s greatest ever players, if not the greatest. I’m proud that I was able to meet him. “Obviously he was a big supporter of the national team, watching us whenever he could. A sad day but what a fantastic person, what a fantastic life he lived.” Writing on Instagram following United’s win over Sheffield United, forward Marcus Rashford said: “I signed my first professional contract at Man Utd with Sir Bobby. “Thank you for all the support and advice that you provided to me. That win was for you and your family.” Read More South Africa investigating alleged racist abuse directed at England’s Tom Curry Jack Catterall likely to face Josh Taylor rematch in Glasgow or Manchester Jeremy Doku says Manchester City need to keep proving they are the ‘best team’ Newcastle boss Eddie Howe praises ‘ultimate professional’ Jacob Murphy Erik ten Hag says Harry Maguire ‘playing like we want him to’ Ange Postecoglou praises ‘professional’ Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg

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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