Spain and Portugal join Ukraine in their candidacy for the 2030 World Cup
The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) confirmed today that Ukraine will join their joint bid to organize the World Cup in 2030, in a project that has the “unconditional support of the UEFA” in an “exceptional situation”.
The president of the Ukrainian Football Federation, Andriy Pavelko, was present at the announcement in the Swiss city of Nyon, along with the holders of the Spanish, Luis Rubiales, and the Portuguese, Fernando Gomes.
The two presidents of the Iberian federations understand that “there is nothing better than a World Cup to strongly transmit a message that will serve as a source of inspiration in the future”.
“I am convinced that all of Spanish society will be proud of the important legacy that this candidacy leaves for history. Each one of us represents our countries separately, but together we represent the power of transformation that football has in society”, Rubiales stated at the press conference to present the project.
Putin spoke about the Ukrainian counteroffensive and said that the situation “will stabilize”
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed today, as a result of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the east and south, his confidence that the situation in the Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia “will stabilize.”
“We assume that the situation in the territories incorporated into Russia will stabilize,” he said during a telematic meeting with Russian teachers.
Russia promises to recover the territories reconquered by Ukraine
Russia promised on Wednesday to recapture the territories reconquered by kyiv within the Ukrainian regions it annexed, saying these territories will be Russian “forever.”
These “territories will be recovered and we will continue to consult the (local) population about their desire to live in Russia,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitri Peskov told reporters.
The Kremlin spokesman was asked about the exact borders of the annexed regions, where Russian forces abandoned some towns after Ukrainian counteroffensives.
“These territories will be with Russia forever, they will be recovered,” insisted Peskov.
Russia resumes gas supplies to Italy after several days of suspension
Russia began to resume gas supplies to Italy after having suspended it days ago due to a problem in Austria, where the gas pipeline passes, the Russian company Gazprom announced today.
“Gazprom, in collaboration with Italian buyers, managed to find a solution” after regulatory changes in Austria that had caused the suspension of supplies to Italy, the company said in a statement.
Most of the Russian gas that reaches Italy does so through the Ukraine, through the TAG gas pipeline that reaches Tarvisio, in the north of the country, on the border with Austria.
Last Saturday, Gazprom had explained in a statement that the transport of Russian gas through Austria had been suspended due to “the refusal of the Austrian operator to confirm the transport authorizations”.
Russia strikes Ukraine’s kyiv region with Iranian drones
Russian attacks with Iranian “suicide” drones injured one person and started fires in a Ukrainian city near the capital kyiv, authorities said today.
The governor of kyiv province said infrastructure in the city of Bila Tserkva, some 100 kilometers south of the capital, was damaged by the overnight attacks.
“At night, the enemy carried out Shahed-136-type kamikaze drone attacks on Bila Tserkva,” setting fires, Gov. Oleksiy Kuleba said.
Kuleba specified that there were “six blows and explosions” in the town, whose population before the war was about 200,000 people.
“One person was injured. Several infrastructures were damaged,” he added on the Telegram messaging application.
Ukraine celebrates military advances in Lugansk
Ukraine claimed this Wednesday military advances in the Lugansk region (east), until now almost completely controlled by Russia.
“Now it’s official. The unoccupation of the Lugansk region has begun. Several towns have already been liberated from the Russian army,” Ukrainian governor of the region Sergei Gaidai said on Telegram.
EU agrees to new sanctions against Russia after annexation of four regions of Ukraine
The European Union (EU) agreed to a new round of sanctions against Russia after this country annexed four regions of Ukraineannounced on Wednesday the Czech presidency of the bloc.
The new sanctions package was agreed at ambassadorial level and will have to go through a final approval process before being published and coming into force on Thursday, the Czech Republic’s ambassador to the EU said on Twitter.
“We have reached a political agreement on new sanctions against Russia – a strong EU response to Putin’s illegal annexation of territories,” Ambassador Edita Hrda said.
This is the eighth package of EU sanctions since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Putin finalizes annexation of four Ukraine regions
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on Wednesday the law on the annexation of four Ukrainian regions and the decrees formally appointing the leaders that Moscow had already established there.
The texts signed by Putin stipulate that the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Jershon and Zaporiyia are accepted “within the Russian Federation in accordance with the Constitution” of the country.
Before Putin’s signature, the annexation legislation was unanimously supported by the lower and upper houses of the Russian Parliament.