• 11:38 a.m.: Ukraine to boycott UEFA competitions with Russian teams

Ukraine will boycott European football competitions in which Russian teams will participate, the Ukrainian Football Federation (AUF) announces.

The announcement comes a day after UEFA – European football's governing body – decided to reinstate Russian under-17 teams in its competitions. A decision, taken in agreement with the International Federation (Fifa), that the AUF "strongly condemns".

The AUF "confirms that it will not take part in any competition in which Russian teams participate", and urges UEFA to "reverse its decision", it is written in the statement published on the website of this federation. It also asks other countries to "boycott possible matches involving Russian teams, if they are admitted".

UEFA believes that "children should not be punished for acts for which the responsibility lies exclusively with adults".

  • 10:53 a.m.: Ukraine helped by London and Washington to strike Crimea, accuses Moscow

Friday's Ukrainian strike on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea fleet in Crimea was "implemented at the request of the American and British intelligence services" and coordinated with them, Russian diplomacy charged.

"There is not the slightest doubt that the attack was planned in advance with the use of Western intelligence assets, NATO satellite equipment, reconnaissance aircraft," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

It was "implemented at the request of the US and British intelligence services and in close coordination with them," she added at her weekly press conference.

  • 5:12 a.m.: Roberta Metsola calls for swift opening of EU accession negotiations for Ukraine and Moldova

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola hopes the EU will open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova by the end of the year, calling on the hopes of these candidate countries not to be "disappointed".

In an interview on Tuesday with the European Newsroom, which brings together European news agencies including AFP, the Maltese official was asked about the date of 2030 proposed by Council President Charles Michel for an enlargement of the EU.

"Rather than focusing on the date – let's say it's good that there is a date on the table – let's focus on hopefully opening accession negotiations by the end of the year," said Roberta Metsola (EPP group, right).

"If Ukraine and Moldova are ready, accession negotiations should be able to start and steps could then be taken gradually, step by step. Each country is going its own way, but let us not disappoint the millions of people who call Europe home," she urged.

  • September 26 Essentials

Russia assured that the arrival on the battlefield of American Abrams tanks "would not change the balance of forces" between the Russian and Ukrainian armies and that they "will also burn".

The Russian Defense Ministry released an image showing Viktor Sokolov, commander of the Black Sea fleet, participating in a video conference, despite Ukraine claiming to have killed him.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address that sanctions against Russia were not enough to end its "aggression" and promised new Ukrainian actions against the "terrorist state."

With AFP and Reuters

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