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Kremlin Says: Don't Be Worried about Russian Warships in Cuba

The Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kazan (L) and the class frigate Admiral Gorshkov arrive at Havana, Cuba, June 12, 2024. (AFP Photo)
The Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kazan (L) and the class frigate Admiral Gorshkov arrive at Havana, Cuba, June 12, 2024. (AFP Photo)
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Kremlin Says: Don't Be Worried about Russian Warships in Cuba

The Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kazan (L) and the class frigate Admiral Gorshkov arrive at Havana, Cuba, June 12, 2024. (AFP Photo)
The Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kazan (L) and the class frigate Admiral Gorshkov arrive at Havana, Cuba, June 12, 2024. (AFP Photo)

The Kremlin, asked about US nervousness about Russian warships visiting Cuba, said on Thursday that there was no reason for any country including the United States to be worried by the exercise.
A Russian navy frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine churned into Havana harbor on Wednesday, a stopover the US and Cuba said posed no threat but which was widely seen as a Russian show of force as tensions rise over the Ukraine war, Reuters said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that it was common practice for all states including major maritime powers such as Russia to carry out military exercises.

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World

Kremlin Rejects US Claim Ukrainian Strikes Will Help End War

Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 8, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 8, 2026. (Reuters)
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Kremlin Rejects US Claim Ukrainian Strikes Will Help End War

Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 8, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 8, 2026. (Reuters)

Russia on Thursday hit out at the United States saying Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy sites could help end the war between Moscow and Kyiv.

Ukraine has mounted a retaliatory strike campaign using long-range drones against Russian energy and military facilities, in what Kyiv calls fair retribution for Moscow's drone and missile barrages on Ukrainian cities.

Asked about the strikes during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump appeared to endorse the campaign.

"It's an escalation, but it's also an escalation that can help lead to an end," Trump said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio similarly expressed hope the Ukrainian strikes would "create the space now to negotiate the end of this war" that started with Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin on Thursday said Ukrainian military pressure would not force it into concessions.

"We see certain misconceptions within the White House administration -- that by escalating military pressure it can help move to a peace settlement. That is a mistaken view," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, including AFP.

"Further escalation may prolong the special military operation to some extent," he said, using Russia's preferred term for the offensive.

He also threatened that Moscow's army would respond by "creating a larger security zone" -- a reference to seizing more territory in eastern Ukraine.

Kyiv's attacks on Russian oil depots and refineries have triggered a fuel crisis across Russia, forcing Moscow -- one of the world's top oil producers -- to ban some exports.

More than 90 percent of all Russian regions have introduced some form of rationing or reported shortages in petrol and diesel, according to official statements and local media reports.

World

Italy Expels 2 Russian Embassy Staff over Spying Case

30 June 2026, Italy, Rome: Carabinieri vehicles transport suspects from the operations unit on Via Selci to prison in Rome. Photo: Francesco Benvenuti/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa
30 June 2026, Italy, Rome: Carabinieri vehicles transport suspects from the operations unit on Via Selci to prison in Rome. Photo: Francesco Benvenuti/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa
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Italy Expels 2 Russian Embassy Staff over Spying Case

30 June 2026, Italy, Rome: Carabinieri vehicles transport suspects from the operations unit on Via Selci to prison in Rome. Photo: Francesco Benvenuti/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa
30 June 2026, Italy, Rome: Carabinieri vehicles transport suspects from the operations unit on Via Selci to prison in Rome. Photo: Francesco Benvenuti/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa

The Italian government has decided to expel two military attaches at the Russian Embassy in Italy who were allegedly involved in espionage activities, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Thursday.

Earlier this week, two ⁠people were arrested ⁠on charges of passing classified information to a Russian agent.

Prosecutors said the main suspect was ⁠a former officer of Italy's Carabinieri police force. Five other individuals are also under investigation.

Tajani said on social media platform X that the two Russian officials must leave Rome within three days.

He ⁠said Moscow continued to employ "hybrid tools" against Italy and the West, describing this as "serious and unacceptable interference" that threatens national security.

Russia's foreign ministry said it would respond to the Italian move.

World

600 Dead in DR Congo Ebola Outbreak

A health worker in personal protective equipment stands near displaced people waiting for the burial of suspected Ebola victims at the Kigonze displaced persons camp, one month after an outbreak was declared, in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/File Photo
A health worker in personal protective equipment stands near displaced people waiting for the burial of suspected Ebola victims at the Kigonze displaced persons camp, one month after an outbreak was declared, in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/File Photo
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600 Dead in DR Congo Ebola Outbreak

A health worker in personal protective equipment stands near displaced people waiting for the burial of suspected Ebola victims at the Kigonze displaced persons camp, one month after an outbreak was declared, in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/File Photo
A health worker in personal protective equipment stands near displaced people waiting for the burial of suspected Ebola victims at the Kigonze displaced persons camp, one month after an outbreak was declared, in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/File Photo

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has now claimed 600 lives, figures published by the World Health Organization showed Thursday -- only three days after the figure topped 500.

Updated numbers issued by the UN health agency showed there have been 1,759 confirmed cases in DR Congo since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, including 600 confirmed deaths.

Two other people have died in neighboring Uganda, where 17 patients have recovered out of 20 total confirmed cases.

The WHO's figures for the DRC, which come from the health authorities in the vast country, show that the outbreak there has a case fatality rate of 34 percent, AFP reported.

A total of 285 patients in the DRC have recovered, while 304 suspected cases of the viral hemorrhagic fever are under investigation.

The outbreak in northeastern DRC has hit four provinces but is focused on Ituri province.

The outbreak is being driven by the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments.

The trial of two potential treatments for Bundibugyo began in the DRC on July 2.

The trial is evaluating the effectiveness of the monoclonal antibody MBP134 and the antiviral drug remdesivir, alone and in combination.

Ebola spreads through close contact and infected bodily fluids.

The DRC's 17th Ebola outbreak was declared on May 15 after several deaths in mineral-rich Ituri province, which is plagued by armed groups.