Europe

19 July 2023; MEMO: Russia warned that, from Thursday, any ships travelling to Ukraine's Black Sea ports will be seen as possibly carrying military cargoes after Ukraine said it was setting up a temporary shipping route to try and continue its grain exports, Reuters reports.

19 July 2023; MEMO: British Conservative MP, Tobias Ellwood, has praised the Taliban government in Afghanistan for "totally transforming" the country, calling for the United Kingdom to establish relations with and recognise the new Afghan authorities.

MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/: Fake news about Moscow and Washington allegedly discussing Ukraine continue to circulate, including, among other means, as a way of destabilizing Russia from within, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Channel One television on Wednesday.

Earlier, Russia dismissed as fake allegations purporting that, in April, US officials held secretive talks on Ukraine with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

BUDAPEST, July 19. /TASS/:  Hungary will not allow the European Union to use funds from the European Peace Fund to finance arms supplies to Ukraine until OTP Bank is removed from Ukraine’s list of "international sponsors of the war," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said at a press conference in Budapest after a meeting with his Yemeni counterpart.

Answering questions from reporters, he noted that the position of the Hungarian government on this issue has not changed.

MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/: Poland will not open its borders to grain from Ukraine and will unilaterally extend the ban on its supply to the country after September 15, if the European Commission refuses to do so.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki made this announcement at a press conference following a meeting of representatives of the ministries of agriculture of Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

ATHENS, Jul 19 (NNN-AMNA) – Hundreds of Greek firefighters continued for a second day yesterday, to battle two major wildfires near Dervenochoria, some 30 km north-west of Athens, and near the seaside resort of Loutraki, about 80 km south-west of the capital, authorities said.

No injuries have been reported, but the blazes scorched forested areas and forced the evacuation of six settlements, Fire Service spokesperson, Vasilios Vathrakogiannis, said, in a press release.

PRAGUE, July 19 (Reuters) - The head of Britain's MI6 foreign spy service said on Wednesday last month's mutiny by Russian mercenaries showed there were 'deep fractures' surrounding the Kremlin, and invited Russians appalled by the war in Ukraine to come spy for Britain.

In just his second public speech since becoming chief of the Secret Intelligence Service in 2020, Richard Moore said there appeared to be little prospect of Russia regaining momentum in Ukraine.

LONDON/GAYDON, England, July 19 (Reuters) - India's Tata Group will build an electric vehicle battery plant in Britain to supply its Jaguar Land Rover factories, delivering a major boost for a UK car industry in need of domestic battery production to help secure its future.

The announcement marks Britain's biggest move in the car gigafactory space as it seeks to keep up with the United States and European Union in the race to develop green industries.

KYIV, July 19 (Reuters) - Ukraine accused Russia on Wednesday of damaging grain export infrastructure in "hellish" overnight strikes focused on two of its Black Sea ports, vowing not to be intimidated from working to keep grain exports moving out of them.

Russia attacked the Odesa region for the second consecutive night after quitting a year-old deal allowing the safe passage of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea on Monday. Ukraine said it was setting up a temporary shipping route to Romania.

July 19 (Reuters) - A fire that broke out at the military training grounds in the Kirovske district on the Crimean Peninsula has forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 people and a closure of nearby highway, the Moscow-backed governor of Crimea said on Wednesday.

"It is planned to temporarily evacuate residents of four settlements - this is more than 2,000 people," Russian-installed Governor Sergei Aksyonov of Crimea said on the Telegram messaging app.

There was no reason given for the fire, which also forced the partial closure of the major Tavridy Highway.