Live: Russia accuses US, UK of aiding Ukrainian missile strike on Crimea naval fleet HQ

Issued on: 27/09/2023 – 11:35Modified: 27/09/2023 – 11:43

4 min

11:35am: Ukraine will boycott football competitions involving Russian teams

Ukraine has said it will not play in tournaments involving Russian teams after football’s European governing body, UEFA, announced plans to reinstate Russia’s Under-17 sides to European competitions.

In a statement released late on Tuesday, the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) urged UEFA to reconsider its decision and urged other countries not to play against Russian teams.

UEFA decided after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 that all Russian teams – national or club sides – would be suspended from participation in its competitions.

But UEFA said on Tuesday that “children should not be punished for actions whose responsibility lies exclusively with adults”, and that Russian U-17 sides would be readmitted to UEFA competitions “in the course of this season”.

10:53am: World’s largest crypto exchange to sell Russia business

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance said on Wednesday it will sell its Russia business to newly launched exchange CommEX, becoming the latest company to pull out of Moscow since the country began its war against Ukraine.

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, did not disclose financial details of the deal. The company said it will have no ongoing revenue split from the sale, nor will it maintain an option to buy back shares in the business.

“As we look toward the future, we recognise that operating in Russia is not compatible with Binance’s compliance strategy,” Chief Compliance Officer Noah Perlman said, without referring to the war in Ukraine, which Russia calls a “special military operation.”

10:21am: Russia alleges US and UK aided Ukraine missile strike on Crimea naval HQ

Moscow claimed on Wednesday that Washington and London helped Ukraine strike the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in annexed Crimea last week.

“There is not the slightest doubt that the attack was planned in advance using Western intelligence assets, NATO satellite equipment, and reconnaissance aircraft,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. The missile strike was carried out “in close coordination with the American and British intelligence services”, she added.

8:51am: Polish minister says Ukraine grain talks are on the right track

Talks with Ukraine about the grain imports are going in a good direction, the Polish agriculture minister said on Wednesday, after a dispute between the two countries over Warsaw’s decision to extend a ban.

Kyiv’s relations with Warsaw have soured since Poland, along with Hungary and Slovakia, decided to extend the ban that was introduced to protect farmers from a surge in grain and food imports from Ukraine after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.

The government in Warsaw, which has been one of Kyiv’s staunchest allies, is also under pressure from the far right to take a tougher stance on Ukraine ahead of October 15 elections.

3:45am: Russian drone strikes on Odesa region hit port area and cut ferry service to Romania

Russia struck the Black Sea region of Odesa in a drone barrage that damaged a warehouse, charred dozens of trucks and injured two drivers in fiery explosions that led to the suspension of the ferry service between Romania and Ukraine, officials said Tuesday.

Video shot from the Romanian side of the Danube River showed rapid bursts of Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire streaking through the night sky followed by two orange fireballs exploding near the port area. Photos showed burned-out frames of trucks.

Romanian Border Police said ferries were anchored on the Romanian shores of the Danube in Isaccea due to the attacks on Ukraine. Traffic was being redirected through Galati, a Romanian town upstream on the Danube.

Ukraine’s air force said it downed 26 of 38 drones launched by Russia overnight.

Key developments from Tuesday, September 26:

Several villages in Russia’s Kursk region bordering Ukraine lost power Tuesday after a Ukrainian drone dropped explosives on an electricity substation, according to the region’s governor.

Turkey’s parliament will keep its promise to ratify Sweden’s NATO bid if US President Joe Biden’s administration paves the way for F-16 jet sales to Ankara, President Tayyip Erdogan said in remarks carried by Turkish media.

US supplies of long-range ATACMS missiles and Abrams tanks to Ukraine will not change the situation on the battlefield, the Kremlin warned.

And Viktor Sokolov, the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and one of Russia’s most senior navy officers, was pictured attending a video conference, a day after Ukrainian special forces said they had killed him.

Read yesterday’s live blog to see how the day’s events unfolded.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP, and Reuters)