Europe

KYIV, June 20 (Reuters) - Russian forces captured territory along a frontline river in eastern Ukraine on Monday, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy predicted Moscow would escalate attacks ahead of a summit of European leaders expected to welcome Kyiv's bid to join the EU.

Moscow's separatist proxies claimed to have captured Toshkivka, a town on the mostly Ukrainian-held western bank of the Siverskyi Donets river, south of Sievierodonetsk, which has become the main battlefield city in recent weeks.

KIEV, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The head of the Ukrainian President's Office Andriy Yermak said that Kiev continues to consult with its partners on a security guarantee framework, local online media outlet LB.ua reported Monday.

"We continue permanent consultations... As of today, many countries from different continents have expressed their desire to be future guarantors," Yermak was quoted by the media outlet as saying.

MADRID (AP) — Cooler temperatures helped firefighters Monday stabilize a wildfire in northwestern Spain that reports say is the biggest on record in the country.

The fire in the Sierra de Culebra mountain range in Zamora province has burnt 31,000 hectares (77,000 acres) so far. The state news agency Efe said that made it the biggest on record since a fire in southwestern Huelva province razed just under 30,000 hectares in 2004.

While the Zamora fire wasn’t under complete control, there are no longer flames and it’s no longer spreading, authorities said Monday.

20 June 2022; MEMO: Nine Israelis have been killed while fighting alongside the Ukrainian army, Sama news agency reported Russian Foreign Ministry saying yesterday.

"There were 35 Israelis fighting with the Ukrainian army, including nine killed, three left Ukraine and 18 are still fighting until now," a report issued by Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Russia has previously accused Israel of standing beside the Ukrainian army, stressing that there were 200 Israeli mercenaries among the Ukrainian forces.

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance was projected to lose its majority despite getting the most seats in the final round of parliamentary elections Sunday, while the far-right National Rally appeared to have made big gains.

The projections, which are based on partial results, say Macron’s candidates would win between 230 and 250 seats — much less than the 289 required to have a straight majority at the National Assembly, France’s most powerful house of parliament.

COLOGNE, Germany (AP) — At a gas station near the Cologne, Germany, airport, Bernd Mueller watches the digits quickly climb on the pump: 22 euros ($23), 23 euros, 24 euros. The numbers showing how much gasoline he’s getting rise, too. But much more slowly. Painfully slowly.

“I’m getting rid of my car this October, November,” said Mueller, 80. “I’m retired, and then there’s gas and all that. At some point, you’ve got to scale back.”

MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia grew by 3,081 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of infected to 18,398,260, the federal anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Sunday.

In relative terms the increase in the number of new cases totaled 0.02%.

The number of coronavirus patients taken to hospital in the past 24 hours amounted to 730 (a 5.8% decline compared with the previous day). On the previous day 1,291 coronavirus patients were taken to hospital.

MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/: By supplying arms to Ukraine, the United States will not be able to deprive Russia of the right to its own voice in international affairs and force it to comply with the rules invented by Washington, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Rossiya 1 TV channel on Sunday.

When asked about what the United States is trying to achieve by sending additional shipments of weapons to Ukraine, the minister pointed out that Washington had declared these goals for a long time.

ROME, June 19. /TASS/: Italian energy company Eni reported on Sunday that it continues to receiving gas volumes from Gazprom in reduced volumes.

"Gazprom announced that today it will deliver volumes of gas in line with the quantities delivered in the last days," the company said in a statement.

In recent days, Italy has received smaller than requested volumes of gas, ranging from 50 to 65%.

MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/: Several commanders of Ukraine’s Azov nationalist battalion, who surrendered in Mariupol, have been taken to Moscow’s Lefortovo detention center, a source in law enforcement agencies told TASS on Sunday.

"Currently, several Azov commanders, who were taken prisoner during the battles for Mariupol, have been taken to Lefortovo," the source said but did not disclose their names.