Europe

MOSCOW, July 21 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused NATO member Poland of having territorial ambitions in the former Soviet Union, and said any aggression against Russia's neighbour and close ally Belarus would be considered an attack on Russia.

Moscow would react to any aggression against Belarus, which forms a loose "Union State" with Russia, "with all the means at our disposal", Putin told a meeting of his Security Council in televised remarks.

MOSCOW, July 21 (Reuters) - Russia's Defence Ministry said on Friday that its Black Sea Fleet had practised firing rockets at surface targets in a live fire exercise, two days after it warned that ships heading to Ukraine's Black Sea ports could be considered military targets.

Russia issued its warning earlier this week after it quit the Black Sea grain deal on Monday, revoking security guarantees for ships carrying Ukrainian grain.

LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's governing Conservatives lost two strategically important parliamentary seats on Friday but unexpectedly retained former leader Boris Johnson's old constituency in a setback for the opposition Labour Party.

The Conservatives' narrow victory in Uxbridge and South Ruislip gave Sunak some breathing space to try to narrow Labour's large lead in the polls by tackling inflation and a cost-of-living crisis before a national vote expected next year.

KYIV, July 21 (Reuters) - Russia pounded Ukrainian food export facilities for a fourth day in a row on Friday and practised seizing ships in the Black Sea in an escalation of what Western leaders say is an attempt to wriggle out of sanctions by threatening a global food crisis.

The attacks on Ukraine's grain, a major part of the global food chain, followed a vow by Kyiv to defy Russia's naval blockade on its grain export ports following Moscow's withdrawal this week from a UN-brokered safe sea corridor agreement.

KYIV, July 21 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy dismissed Vadym Prystaiko as Ukraine's ambassador to Britain on Friday, days after the envoy publicly criticised the president.

A presidential order, which said Prystaiko had also been removed as Ukraine's representative to the International Maritime Organization, gave no reason for the dismissal.

LONDON (AP) — Voters weary of economic pain and political turmoil handed Britain’s governing Conservatives two thumping defeats Friday in a trio of special elections that point toward likely defeat for the party in the next national election.

The Conservatives avoided a wipeout by holding onto former premier Boris Johnson ‘s seat in suburban London — a sliver of comfort for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s party.

Sunak said the results showed that the next general election, due by the end of 2024, was not “a done deal.”

(AP) --- By pulling out of a landmark deal that allowed Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea, Russian President Vladimir Putin is taking a gamble that could badly damage Moscow’s relations with many of its partners that have stayed neutral or even been supportive of the Kremlin’s invasion of its neighbor.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s Fire Service intensified water drops west of Athens where a huge blaze was contained overnight, as authorities braced Thursday for a new round of extreme weather.

Seven firefighting planes and nine helicopters were operating in the area, including four planes sent from Italy and France as part of a European Union support mechanism.

Searing heat across Europe’s Mediterranean south has maintained a high or very high risk of fires in Spain, Italy and Greece.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — European Union climate chief Frans Timmermans said Thursday he wants to lead a combined campaign by two center-left parties that are joining forces ahead of Dutch parliamentary elections in late November.

Timmermans is a vice president of the EU’s executive commission in charge of climate policy. He told Dutch national broadcaster NOS he has put himself forward as a candidate to lead the Labor Party and Green Left into the elections. The parties agreed Monday to form a united front on the left of the splintered Dutch political landscape.

MOSCOW (AP) — Mercenaries from Russia’s military company Wagner on Thursday launched joint drills with the Belarusian military near the border with Poland following their relocation to Belarus after their short-lived rebellion, a move that prompted Warsaw to redeploy its troops.

The Belarusian Defense Ministry said that the weeklong maneuvers will be conducted at a firing range near the border city of Brest and will involve Belarusian special forces. The ministry added that Wagner’s combat experience will help modernize the Belarusian military.