Europe

01 Feb 2023; MEMO: The Church of England (CoE) has banned a pro-Palestinian priest over allegations of "anti-Semitic activity" and for criticism of the Israeli state, in a move seen by some as the bowing of the historic religious institution to the pro-Israel Zionist lobby.

02 Feb 2023; MEMO: An anti-Semitism commissioner of a major German city is launching a targeted campaign against a Jewish artist and photographer over anti-Semitism allegations for criticising the ongoing Israeli Occupation, threatening his life and career future in the process.

MADRID, February 1. /TASS/: The Spanish authorities plan to send four to six refurbished Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine in its initial shipment, the El Pais newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing government sources.

According to the paper, the final number will depend on the condition of the 53 tanks that have been stored in Zaragoza for ten years. The Spanish Defense Ministry is currently in talks on their urgent restoration.

WARSAW, February 1. /TASS/: The potential handover of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine would be a difficult task due to the lengthy training involved, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Marcin Ociepa told Telewizja Polska on Wednesday.

"These are not automatic rifles that you can simply hand to someone," he said.

MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/: The founder of PMC Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin has said that Artyomovsk (Ukrainian name - Bakhmut) today is not yet in the operational encirclement of Russian forces.

MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/: French President Emmanuel Macron's statement that the possible delivery of military aircraft to Ukraine will not lead to an escalation is absurd, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Wednesday.

Feb 1 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia's military must stop the shelling of Russian regions from Ukrainian territory, which he said had left many people homeless or without power.

Putin was addressing a government meeting about restoring destroyed housing and infrastructure in regions of southwest Russia that border Ukraine.

"Of course, the priority task is to eliminate the very possibility of shelling. But this is the business of the military department," Putin said in remarks published on the Kremlin website.

Feb 1 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia's military must stop the shelling of Russian regions from Ukrainian territory, which he said had left many people homeless or without power.

Putin was addressing a government meeting about restoring destroyed housing and infrastructure in regions of southwest Russia that border Ukraine.

"Of course, the priority task is to eliminate the very possibility of shelling. But this is the business of the military department," Putin said in remarks published on the Kremlin website.

BAKHMUT, Ukraine, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Ukrainian police staged a risky rescue mission in the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut this week to evacuate a six-year-old girl who had become separated from her pregnant mother.

Young Arina was found living with her grandparents in a run-down apartment building in Bakhmut, which has been pummelled by Russian forces in heavy fighting.

KYIV, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Security services searched the home of one of Ukraine's most prominent billionaires on Wednesday, moving against a figure once seen as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's sponsor in what the authorities called a war-time anti-corruption purge.

The action, days before a summit with the European Union, appears to reflect determination by Kyiv to demonstrate that it can be a steward of billions of dollars in Western aid and shed a reputation as one of the world's most corrupt states.