Europe

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s air force said Wednesday that nine Russian warplanes were destroyed in a deadly string of explosions at an air base in Crimea, amid speculation the blasts were the result of a Ukrainian attack that would represent a significant escalation in the war.

Russia denied any aircraft were damaged in Tuesday’s blasts — or that any attack took place.

MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/: Russia is ready to render assistance to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in order to grant its mission an access to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (NPP), the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

"We hope that under current conditions the UN Secretary General [Antonio Guterres] will come to realize his full scope of responsibility and will not be hindering the IAEA mission by using either his subordinate department of the Secretariat or other links in the UN mechanism," the statement reads.

MINSK, August 9. /TASS/: Belarusian exports to Russia reached a historical high and amounted to $2 bln per month, Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko announced on Tuesday.

"Exports of goods are growing every month, and in June it almost reached the level of last year, and to Russia it reached a historical maximum of $2 bln per month," BelTA news agency quoted the Belarusian Prime Minister.

MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/: The Kremlin is not witnessing any positive change in attitudes of German and Austrian politicians towards Russia yet, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, commenting on German media reports alleging a surge in public support for Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin in Germany and Austria.

"Unfortunately, we are not witnessing any such change," Peskov said, when asked if the Kremlin could see any behavioral change in the two countries’ politicians.

KYIV, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Ukraine's president called on the West to impose a blanket travel ban on Russians, an idea that has found support among some European states but angered Moscow, which pressed on with a fierce military offensive in eastern Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's idea looked likely to divide the European Union, where differences on how to deal with Moscow have long persisted between some eastern and western members.

MOSCOW, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Moscow accused the United States on Tuesday of "unreasonable and unnecessary escalation" in announcing an inspection on Russian territory under the New START nuclear arms reduction pact, knowing that it would not let Russia carry out reciprocal inspections.

Russia had said on Monday that it would not allow its weapons to be inspected under the treaty for the time being because of travel restrictions imposed by Washington and its allies. 

MOSCOW, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Ukraine has suspended Russian oil pipeline flows to parts of central Europe since early this month because Western sanctions prevented it from accepting transit fees from Moscow, Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft said on Tuesday.

International benchmark Brent crude jumped by $2 per barrel to trade near $98 as the news added to energy supply concerns, but turned negative later in the day.

WARSAW, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Poland could hit back at the European Union if Warsaw does not get its share of pandemic recovery funds, ruling party politicians said, after Brussels signalled it was not satisfied with the country's latest judicial reforms.

More than 35 billion euros ($36 billion) of COVID-19 recovery grants and loans were put on hold due to a dispute over the reforms to the judiciary in Poland, which the EU executive says subvert democratic standards.

(AP) --- Several countries in Europe dependent on Russian energy suffered another blow with confirmation Tuesday that oil shipments have stopped through a critical pipeline.

Russian state pipeline operator Transneft said it halted shipments through the southern branch of the Druzhba oil pipeline, which flows through Ukraine to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.

Transneft cited complications due to European Union sanctions for its action on Aug. 4, saying its payment to the company’s Ukrainian counterpart was refused.

PARIS (AP) — French environmentalists prepared Tuesday to move a beluga whale that strayed into the Seine River last week to a saltwater basin in Normandy, hoping to save the life of the dangerously thin marine mammal.

A medical team plans to transport the 4-meter-long (13-foot-long) whale to a coastal spot in the northeastern French port town of Ouistreham for “a period of care,” according to Lamya Essemlali, president of the conservation group Sea Shepherd France.

Experts think the whale is sick and in a race against time for survival, she said.