Europe

June 6 (Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that U.S.-built F-16 fighter jets can 'accommodate' nuclear weapons and warned that supplying Kyiv with them will escalate the conflict further.

"We must keep in mind that one of the modifications of the F-16 can 'accommodate' nuclear weapons," Lavrov said in a speech at a military base in Dushanbe in Tajikistan, according to a transcript on the ministry's website.

"If they do not understand this, then they are worthless as military strategists and planners."

MOSCOW, June 6 (Reuters) - Russia's defence minister said on Tuesday his forces had thwarted the first three days of a Ukrainian counter-offensive, alleging that they had killed or wounded more than 3,700 Ukrainian soldiers.

Unusually, Sergei Shoigu read a statement himself rather than leaving it to the ministry's regular spokesman.

Ukraine has maintained deliberate ambiguity about whether its long-expected counter-offensive is under way, and Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield claims.

VLADIVOSTOK/KIEV, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Russian forces had destroyed the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam in southern Ukraine.

All services are working to eliminate the consequences of the incident, Zelensky said in a Telegram post, adding that he had convened the National Security and Defense Council.

Ukraine's state-run nuclear energy operator Energoatom said that the destruction of the dam may have negative consequences for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

MOSCOW (AP) — A Moscow court on Tuesday set the date for a new trial of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny that could keep him in prison for decades.

The Moscow City Court held a preliminary hearing behind closed doors to discuss technical issues related to the trial of the Kremlin’s arch foe before it begins on June 19.

Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said that the trial will be held at a maximum security prison 250 kilometers (150 miles) east of Moscow where Navalny is serving a nine-year sentence for fraud and contempt of court.

ROME (AP) — Police on Tuesday searched the offices and homes of a former Italian premier and several leading business executives in an investigation of alleged corruption involving the sale of military planes, ships and submarines to Colombia, Italian state television reported.

Massimo D’Alema, a leftist politician who served as Italian premier from 1998-2000, is among those reported to be under investigation.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s state broadcasting authority has received multiple complaints over the way state media covered a huge anti-government protest over the weekend, an official said Tuesday.

State broadcaster TVP played down the size and significance of the protest led by the main opposition leader, Donald Tusk. Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in Warsaw, making it possibly the largest demonstration in decades in Poland.

BRUSSELS, June 5 (Reuters) - Reinforcements for NATO's peacekeeping force have begun to arrive in Kosovo following last week's unrest in the north of the country, the alliance said on Monday.

Violence flared after Kosovo authorities installed ethnic Albanian mayors in offices in northern municipalities after being elected on a turnout of just 3.5% after Serbs who form a majority in the region boycotted local polls.

The clashes injured 30 members of the NATO peacekeeping force known as KFOR as well as 52 Serb protesters.

KYIV, June 5 (Reuters) - Moscow said on Monday it had thwarted a major offensive against its forces in eastern Ukraine, but Ukrainian officials dismissed the report and both sides said Kyiv's military had made small gains elsewhere along front lines.

It was unclear whether the attacks represented the start of Ukraine's long-heralded counteroffensive against Russia's invasion, and Ukrainian officials made no mention of any broad, significant new campaign or sidestepped questions on the matter.

MOSCOW, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Russia will extend its voluntary oil production cut of half a million barrels per day until the end of 2024, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Sunday.

Quoted by Russia's TASS news agency, Novak said: "Russia will extend its voluntary production cut of 500,000 barrels per day until the end of December 2024 as a precautionary measure in coordination with the countries participating in the OPEC+ agreement, which announced voluntary cuts in April."

GENEVA (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo is already in Saudi Arabia. Karim Benzema looks sure to be next. And as the oil-rich kingdom pursues Lionel Messi as well, it is making sure that money continues to flow into the domestic soccer league.