Russia invasion could see prices for UK holidaymakers skyrocket amid Ukraine war

Elton John has expressed that he’s “heartbroken” over the “nightmare” the people of Ukraine are currently living through.It comes after Ukraine severed diplomatic ties with Russia and declared martial law after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation on Thursday (February 24).Last night (February 26), John took to Instagram to post an image of Ukraine’s blue and yellow flag, showing his support for those affected by the attacks.“For over 20 years, the Elton John AIDS Foundation has supported some of the most vulnerable people in Ukraine with access to HIV services and care, as part of our commitment to communities across Eastern Europe and Central Asia.The ‘Rocket Man’ singer’s charity was established in 1992 and supports HIV prevention, education programs and support services for those living with HIV.“We are heartbroken and appalled to see this conflict unfold and our hearts are with the people of Ukraine who do not deserve to live through this nightmare,” he continued.

Jamie Carragher has slammed Chelsea for Roman Abramovich’s statement in which the Russian announced he was handing stewardship of the club to its trustees.The Liverpool legend fumed on Sky Sports ahead of the Reds’ Carabao Cup final clash with Chelsea, where he claimed the Blues “embarrassed themselves”.Abramovich announced on Saturday he would be passing on control of the west London club in a heavily criticised initial statement where he failed to mention Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.And despite Chelsea issuing a short statement on Sunday morning to limit the damage, Carragher believes the club still dealt with the situation embarrassingly.Carragher blasted: "I don't think they've handled it really well. I think that the couple of statements they've put out - I think it's been really poor."I think they've let themselves down badly."I think the club came out today and put out a statement as well, but I think that was trying to rectify what Roman Abramovich put out the night before."And I don't think they did that well either, really.

Russia and commemorates the founding of the Red Army as well as being a general celebration of the armed forces. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine under the pretense of "peacekeeping" the next day, on February 24.

Naman Ramachandran The European Union will ban Russian media outlets Russia Today and Sputnik, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday.Saying that the EU will ban “Kremlin’s media machine,” von der Leyen added that “state-owned Russia Today and Sputnik, as well as their subsidiaries, will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to sow division in our union.”“We are developing tools to ban the toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe,” von der Leyen said.The 27 nations in the EU will also close their airspace to Russian airlines. “We are shutting down the EU airspace for Russians,” von der Leyen said.

MH17 has demanded the West does more to counter president Vladimir Putin. Richard Mayne, 20, was one of 283 passengers on board the plane that was shot down as it flew over eastern Ukraine in July 2014.

Ukraine, all the while casually smoking a cigarette. In the clip, the unnamed middle-aged man, wearing a coat and a pair of jeans, carries the explosive device in his hands like it is a hot potato.He moves it from the road and into some woodland, although the recording ends before showing how he managed to put it down.Twitter-verified media account The New Voice of Ukraine shared the footage on the social media site on Sunday (February 27) and commented that the man risked his life to help his country defend itself from the ongoing invasion by Russia.It tweeted: "A Ukrainian in Berdyansk spotted a mine on the road and didn't wait around for a bomb disposal unit – at great risk to life and limb, he removed the mine, clearing the way for the Ukrainian military."One user commented: "Thinking of my grandfather – If I’m going out I’m going with my Lucky Strikes.

Liverpool and Chelsea have performed a pre-match tribute for Ukraine ahead of the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.The two sides expressed their support for the war-torn country following the invasion launched by Russian president Vladimir Putin this week.Captains Jordan Henderson and Cesar Azpilicueta lead out their teams holding blue and yellow wreaths, the colours of the Ukraine flag.A minutes applause was then held, during which time Liverpool supporters belted out their anthem 'You'll Never Walk Alone'.After the national anthem was sung both sets of players posed for a picture with the wreaths. It comes after several other protests in the Premier League against the military operation over the weekend.Everton players entered the pitch draped in Ukraine flags in support of team-mate Vitaliy Mykolenko before their clash with Manchester City.Manchester United and Watford players urged peace with a sign ahead of their fixture.And Aston Villa's Matty Cash displayed a message of support for his Poland colleague Tomasz Kedziora who is caught up in the crisis.Chelsea have been impacted by Putin's military operation, with Russian owner Roman Abramovich handing over control of the club in recent days.The Russian billionaire announced he has handed over 'stewardship and care' of the club on Saturday.However, he remains owner of the club.Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel admitted earlier this week that the whole situation had impacted his side's preparation.He said: "We should not pretend that this is not an issue and I agree."The situation for me and for everybody here, for the players, is horrible.

Arsenal and Ukraine defender Oleh Luzhnyi has put his coaching dreams on hold in order to fight alongside his people following the Russian invasion.The 53-year-old spent four years at Arsenal and won both the Premier League and FA Cup under the guidance of Arsene Wenger in 2002 and 2003 respectively.Luzhnyi has held several coaching roles at Dynamo Kyiv since his 2005 retirement, holding one permanent management role at Tavriya Simferopol - but that career has now been paused.Luzhnyi has told Sky Sports News of his reaction to the Russian invasion of his country, which president Vladimir Putin has called "a special military operation"."The situation is horrific," Luzhnyi said."I want to come to coach in the UK but before anything I will stand firmly and fight for my people, for my country and for democracy."We all hope this will be over soon as innocent lives are being lost and families are being torn apart. A country being invaded and destroyed is all for what? "We need to stand together as one and bring to an end this criminal warfare."The emotion of Ukraine captain and Manchester City defender Oleksandr Zinchenko was full of emotion before their clash against Everton.He shared a touching moment with Everton's Vitaliy Mykolenko during the warm-up, with Andriy Yarmalenko being given time off by West Ham amid the war in his home country.Pep Guardiola said: "It's a worry, what we feel with our country where we were born.

Vladimir Putin has been accused of major military escalation after requesting Russia’s nuclear deterrent be put on high alert, as his troops continue to attempt their conquest of Ukraine.

Ukrainian brewery has joined the fight against Russia by helping to make Molotov cocktails using bottles of one its beers, which translates to “Putin is a d***head”. Pravda Brewery in Lviv has stopped its operations due to the invasion of Russia but decided to help its country by creating Molotov cocktails after the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine shared instructions on Twitter.

Russia. The 44 year old was previously mocked for his non-political background as a comedian and an actor, who once starred in a TV show about becoming President of Ukraine by mistake.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly “raging” in his lair in the Urals, demanding to know why the invasion of Ukraine is taking so long. Russian troops are encountering fierce resistance as they lay siege to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, and are taking unexpectedly high casualties in the hand-to-hand fighting in Ukraine's second city Kharkiv.Riho Terras, Estonia’s former defence chief, tweeted: "Putin is furious, he thought that the whole war would be easy and everything would be done in one to four days.“The Russians are in shock of the fierce resistance they have encountered."He added that the Russian forces don’t appear to have a "tactical plan" to take Ukraine.Terras said Putin's invasion plan relied on “sowing panic among civilians and armed forces and forcing [Ukrainian President] Zelenskyy to flee".But in response to a US offer of a flight out of the besieged capital, Zelenskyy replied, “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.”Terras also shared an image of what he says is a Russian military intelligence report that he captioned: "Putin is raging.

Vladimir Putin. The sporting world has been heavily critical of the Russian president following his decision to undergo what he calls "a special military operation" against Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin "could use nuclear weapons in Ukraine" one top Conservative MP has warned.Tory MP Tobias Ellwood, chair of the Commons Defence Select Committee has urged the Government to start rolling out sanctions "every day" to combat Russian aggression in the country.The former veteran also said that the worst-case scenario would be low yield nuclear weapons being used in the conflict. Putin has already boasted of the "cutting-edge weapons" Russia has to hand in the conflict with Ukraine.

Lorraine Kelly took a savage swipe at Vladimir Putin after Russian invasion as she compared his face to a melted candle. The beloved Scott, 62, appeared on Friday’s (25 February) instalment of The Last Leg as the comics discussed the concerning developments following the ongoing war in the Ukraine.

Russian troops continue to advance across Ukraine, and despite slower progress than originally anticipate few military analysts doubt that if Russian leader Vladimir Putin were to unleash the full weight of his country’s formidable war machine the Ukrainian army would face defeat. But taking Ukraine is one thing.

 Saturday Night Live in a move away from the show’s traditional opening sketch.The Chorus, who were founded in 1949 as a way for Ukrainian immigrants to “preserve and cultivate the rich musical heritage of Ukraine”, were introduced by SNL regulars Cecily Strong and Kate McKinnon at the show’s opening.Ukraine has officially severed diplomatic ties with Russia and declared martial law after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation on February 24.The Chorus went on to perform an emotive rendition of ‘Prayer For Ukraine’, which you can watch below.After that, the show went on to reveal a set of candles in the shape of the word ‘Kiev’, Ukraine’s capital, which is still currently under siege.“Prayer for Ukraine” performed by Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York pic.twitter.com/5pi2l1Olpx— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) February 27, 2022198 Ukrainians – including three children – have been killed at the time of writing, according to Health Minister Viktor Liashko. A further 1,115 people have reportedly been wounded, including 33 children (via Al Jazeera).

supports HTML5 videoMaksim Chmerkovskiy has been forced to seek refuge in a bomb shelter in Kyiv amid Russia’s attacks on Ukraine.The country has come under intense gunfire and bombing since Thursday, when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack.Overnight, airfields and gas pipelines appear to have been hit, and the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine confirmed that missiles also hit a radioactive waste disposal site near Kyiv.The Dancing With The Stars professional has now posted clips on his Instagram story from the capital city, insisting that he was staying safe.For the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine war, visit our live blog: Russia-Ukraine live‘Hey everybody, I’m in the bomb shelter, aka a parking lot,’ the 42-year-old began, panning the camera to show cars lined up behind him.‘A lot of people here that I don’t want to show. I have no idea what I’m doing and I just don’t want to do something that I shouldn’t.‘I’m safe, I’m in a bomb shelter but Kyiv is under a serious attack from what I understand, from what I heard. ‘We had a crazy alarm so we all ran downstairs.’‘As soon as I know something concrete that I check out, I’ll throw it on my feed.

Ukraine. Freedom fighter Suheil al-Hammoud made a name for himself in the Syrian Civil War where he famously used American anti-tank missiles on the President of Syria's tanks.

Vladimir Putin themselves.

Russia appears to be looking to hold peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy following Russian President Vladimir Putin ordering an invasion on Thursday.The leader of Ukraine has said his country is ready for peace talks with Russia, but will not conduct these in Belarus, which was an invasion staging ground.Ukrainian forces are believed to have held off Russian troops advancing on the capital of Kyiv as Russian forces attacked oil and gas facilities in Ukraine overnight, causing huge explosions.Russian missiles targeted an oil terminal in Vasylkiv, southwest of Kyiv, according to the town's mayor.The results of the blasts reportedly sent huge flames and billowing black smoke into the sky as mayor Natalia Balasinovich said: "The enemy wants to destroy everything."Heavy fighting has also been reported in Kharkiv, where Russia blew up a natural gas pipeline, a Ukrainian state agency said.Russian troops were later seen entered Kharkiv, Ukraine's interior ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said on Telegram.These videos, posted by him and a state agency, showed several military vehicles moving on a street and in a separate video, a burning tank.Western allies have prepared new sanctions, including banishing key Russia banks from the main global payments system.Prime Minister Boris Johnson has praised Ukrainians for “fighting heroically” as allies unveiled new measures to hit Russia’s financial system.Mr Johnson also said the West is “tightening the economic ligature” around Russia, with Britain, the US, Canada and the European Union together announcing that selected Russian banks would be excluded from the Swift global payments system.The Prime Minister added: “Let’s be in no doubt, things are not going all