Europe

LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - Russia’s top prosecutor will be empowered to shut down media from countries that ban or restrict Russian news organisations under a law passed by the lower house of parliament on Thursday.

The bill - following bans by some Western governments on Russian media they regard as mouthpieces for President Vladimir Putin and cheerleaders for his war in Ukraine - creates a legal basis for Moscow to retaliate against the media of any country that restricts the activity of Russian journalists.

LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday it had summoned the British ambassador to voice a strong protest against "offensive" British statements, including about alleged Russian threats to use nuclear weapons.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it issued the rebuke to Ambassador Deborah Bronnert over "the frankly boorish statements of the British leadership regarding Russia, its leader and official representatives of the authorities, as well as the Russian people".

VILNIUS/BRUSSELS, June 29 (Reuters) - Trade through Lithuania to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad could return to normal within days, two sources familiar with the matter said, as European officials edge towards a compromise deal with the Baltic state to defuse a row with Moscow.

Kaliningrad, which is bordered by European Union states and relies on railways and roads through Lithuania for most goods, has been cut off from some freight transport from mainland Russia since June 17 under sanctions imposed by Brussels.

June 30 (Reuters) - Russia's Deputy Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that in certain circumstances, sanctions against Moscow may be seen as an act of aggression and a justification for war.

"I would like to point out once again that under certain circumstances such hostile measures can also qualify as an act of international aggression. And even as a casus belli (justification for war)," Medvedev said, adding that Russia has the right to defend itself.

ATHENS, June 30 (Reuters) - Greece has sent an official request to the United States for the purchase of 20 Lockheed Martin-made F-35 fighter jets, the country's prime minister said on Thursday.

NATO member Greece spends more than 2% of its gross domestic product on defence spending. It has beefed up its military purchases in recent years as tensions with its neighbour, historic rival and NATO ally Turkey, have resurfaced.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Greece is also examining the purchase of a second group of the jets.

MADRID, June 30 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden said on Thursday the United States will provide another $800 million in weapons and military aid to Ukraine, hailing the courage of Ukrainians since Russia invaded in February.

Speaking after a NATO summit that saw the alliance also agree to take in Finland and Sweden, Biden said the United States and its NATO allies were united in standing up to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

KYIV, June 30 (Reuters) - Russia on Thursday withdrew from Snake Island, a craggy speck of land in the Black Sea, handing Ukraine a symbolically-potent political victory and depriving Moscow of a strategic outpost for its air defences and electronic warfare systems.

The island's capture by Russian forces on the first day of their invasion entered Ukrainian folklore as a tale of bold resistance after Kyiv said that one of its border guards had told a Russian warship demanding their surrender to "fuck off".

MADRID (AP) — An unstable world could get even more dangerous if NATO does not remain strong and united, the head of the alliance said Thursday at the end of a summit where Western leaders labeled Russia “a direct threat” to the security of their nations.

PARIS (AP) — The lawyer for the only surviving attacker from the November 2015 terrorist massacre in Paris criticized her client’s murder conviction and life prison sentence without the possibility of parole, saying Thursday the verdict “raises serious questions.”

Olivia Ronen did not say if Salah Abdeslam would appeal the verdict and sentence. He has 10 days in which to do so.

YAHIDNE, Ukraine (AP) — On the outskirts of a Ukrainian village stand the remnants of a small school that was partially destroyed in the early weeks of the Russian invasion.

Surrounded by tall pine trees, the school’s broken windows offer glimpses of abandoned classrooms that are unlikely to see students again anytime soon. It is just one of many buildings in Yahidne that were shattered by the war.