Europe

26 October 2023; MEMO: Spain’s acting Minister of Social Rights, Ione Belarra, called on European countries to sever diplomatic relations with Israel and impose an arms embargo and economic sanctions.

Belarra said in a post on X yesterday, that it is still possible to stop the “genocide” and also called for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and all other political leaders, who bombed civilians in the Gaza Strip, to be brought before the International Criminal Court.

26 October 2023; MEMO: Representatives of Palestinian group, Hamas, are holding talks with Russian diplomats in Moscow, a Russian government spokesperson said on Thursday, Anadolu Agency reports.

"I can say and confirm that representatives of the relevant Palestinian Movement (Hamas) are on a visit to Moscow. As for contacts, we will inform you (about their results) additionally" Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said at a news conference in Moscow.

MINSK, October 26. /TASS/: Russia is compelled to resort to compensatory measures given the actions of the United States with respect to European security, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in Minsk at the plenary session of a high-level international conference titled "Eurasian Security: Reality and Prospects in a Transforming World."

MOSCOW, October 26. /TASS/: Russian forces destroyed two German-made Leopard tanks and roughly 85 Ukrainian troops in the Zaporozhye area over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.

BRATISLAVA, October 26. /TASS/: Newly installed Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that he will not vote for any new EU sanctions against Russia if they harm Slovakia, the pravda.sk portal reported.

"Fico stressed that he will not vote [for the EU to introduce] any sanctions against the Russian Federation until there is a [documented] analysis of their impact on Slovakia on the table," the portal noted.

"If sanctions bring us [Slovakia] harm, then I don’t see any reason to support them," Fico said, before departing for the EU summit in Brussels.

MOSCOW, October 26. /TASS/: The Copenhagen meeting on Ukraine set to take place in Malta will be counterproductive, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"On October 28-29, Malta will host another meeting of the so-called Copenhagen platform, which will involve national security advisors to the leaders of participating countries Clearly, such get-togethers will lead nowhere as they are simply counterproductive," the diplomat noted.

KYIV, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov denied on Thursday reports by Ukrainian and British firms that the new Black Sea export corridor had been suspended.

"The information regarding the cancellation or unscheduled stoppage of the temporary #Ukrainian_corridor for the movement of civilian vessels from and to the ports of the Big Odesa (region) is false," Kubrakov said on X, formerly Twitter.

"All available routes established by the Ukrainian Navy are valid and being used by civilian vessels."

MOSCOW Oct 25 (Reuters) - Russian forces are disregarding heavy losses and pressing on with a drive to capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday.

Russia has focused on the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk since failing in its initial drive on the capital Kyiv after mounting its invasion in February 2022.

Over the past two weeks, Russia has concentrated on Avdiivka in Donetsk, a town known in peacetime for its big coking plant and now seen as a bulwark of Ukrainian resistance.

MOSCOW, Oct 26 (Reuters) - A delegation from Hamas visited Moscow on Thursday for talks on the release of foreign hostages including Russian citizens that the militant group is currently holding in Gaza, Russian news agencies reported, citing the foreign ministry.

Senior Hamas member Abu Marzouk was among those attending the talks, TASS reported.

KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AP) — In a city where damaged buildings are everywhere, a destroyed pizzeria stands out as a painful reminder of lives and livelihoods dashed in an instant.

A Russian ballistic missile struck the popular eatery in eastern Ukraine in June, killing 13 people including an award-winning Ukrainian writer and several teenagers. Seven of the victims were staff.

Today, fresh flowers and notes have been placed where the entrance once was. A T-shirt, part of the waitstaff’s uniform, hangs near the makeshift memorial with the inscription “We will never forget.”