Europe

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Sept 2 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Thursday that U.S. military assistance to Ukraine could make Kyiv behave unpredictably and dangerously in the conflict in its east, and expressed regret at a U.S.-Ukrainian friendship it said was motivated by opposition to Russia.

U.S. President Joe Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Washington on Wednesday that the United States was "firmly committed" to Ukraine's territorial integrity and offered $60 million in new security aid. 

MOSCOW, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Russia's communications watchdog threatened on Thursday to fine Apple and Google unless they removed an app created by Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny from their stores, the Interfax news agency reported.

A Russian court declared the jailed opposition politician's movement extremist this summer in a crackdown ahead of parliamentary elections later this month. Navalny's allies want to use the app to organise a tactical voting campaign.

BRDO, Slovenia, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Two senior European Union officials urged the bloc's governments on Thursday to set up a rapidly deployable military force to intervene around the world, saying the crisis in Afghanistan would provide the catalyst to end years of inaction.

The EU's top diplomat and its military chief said the bloc needed to react to conflicts beyond its borders and that the creation of a "first entry force" of 5,000 troops was the way forward, reducing dependence on the United States.

02 Sep 2021; MEMO: The EU is putting together a proposal to avoid a repeat of the 2015 migrant crises with a €600 million ($710 million) fund for Afghanistan's neighbours to help them host refugees fleeing the country following America's hasty withdrawal.

KIEV, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- The United States and Ukraine have signed a Strategic Defense Framework agreement, which is set to define a new stage of bilateral cooperation in the field of defense and security, the Ukrainian presidential press service said Wednesday.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The international team investigating the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine seven years ago appealed Thursday for Russians in the city of Kursk to come forward with information about the deployment of the missile that investigators say downed the plane, killing all 298 people on board.

The call for witnesses included an emotional video featuring the parents of one of the victims, 29-year-old Australian Victor Oreshkin.

His mother, Vera Oreshkin, called her son a “gift from God.”

BRDO CASTLE, Slovenia (AP) — Still reeling from the European Union’s shortcomings in Afghanistan, officials from the 27-nation bloc met Thursday to discuss ways to improve their response to future crises and not be so reliant on the U.S.

European ministers of defense and foreign affairs gathered in Slovenia for talks also involving NATO and U.N. officials to look at ways to improve the bloc’s operational engagement and develop a rapid response force capable of operating in difficult military theaters.

BERLIN (AP) — Angela Merkel will leave office as one of modern Germany’s longest-serving leaders and a global diplomatic heavyweight, with a legacy defined by her management of a succession of crises that shook a fragile Europe rather than any grand visions for her own country.

MOSCOW, September 1. /TASS/: Gas supplies to China over the Power of Siberia gas pipeline updated an absolute record and are 5% above commitments, Gazprom reports on Wednesday.

"Gas supplies to China over the Power of Siberia continue growing. On August 26, daily supplies for the fourth time over this year updated the absolute record and were more than 5% above daily contract commitments of Gazprom," the company says.

MOSCOW, September 1. /TASS/: The Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia) appointed a new governor for the northern province of Panjsher, where the resistance forces concentrate, local media reported Wednesday, citing senior Taliban leader Amir Khan Muttaqi.

The Taliban reportedly urged the resistance to join the movement in order to avoid clashes.