World Cup play-offs in doubt as three nations refuse to travel to Russia amid invasion

LOOSE Women's Charlene White spoke passionately about Ukraine refugees suffering racism in Europe in a fiery clash with Janet Street Porter. The presenters spoke over each other as they clashed over the shocking claims that people are being stopped at the Ukrainian borders because of the colour of their skin. It's been reported that people in Ukraine have been pulled off transport and pushed back from crossing into Poland over their race.

Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich has been under scrutiny for weeks over his alleged deep ties with Russian president Vladimir Putin, which the billionaire has denied. Putin, who invaded Ukraine last week causing the deaths of hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians as well as reportedly thousands of Russian troops, is alleged to have enjoyed a "father and son" relationship with the Russian billionaire.Abramovich, who grew up orphaned from the age of three, has always been careful to distance himself from alleged links with the Russian president and last week gave stewardship over the running of his football club over to Chelsea's charity.His supposed connections to Vladimir Putin were recently raised by Labour MP Chris Bryant, who told the House of Commons he had a copy of a leaked Home Office report that alleged Abramovich having links to the Russian state as well as to "corrupt activity and practices".

Thomas Tuchel snapped back at a reporter after being asked repeatedly about Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Abramovich announced on Saturday that he had handed over “stewardship” of the club to the trustees of Chelsea’s charitable foundation. The Russian’s statement prompted more questions than it gave answers, given the ongoing crisis in Ukraine after Vladimir Putin ordered troops to invade on Thursday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened Ukraine – and the world – with nuclear weapons, as he bids to bring back the era of the Soviet Union.But it now appears that Soviet infrastructure could be saving the lives of thousands of innocent Ukrainians.In a tweet from Ukrainian front-line journalist Illia Ponomarenko, it is now clear that many of Kyiv's metro stations are actual nuclear war vaults.Posting a picture of one of the entrances from the Akademmistechko Station in the country's capital city, he tweeted: “In case you were interested, this is how a sealed subway station look like in Kyiv.“The Soviets designed them as potential nuclear war vaults. Now our metro protects us form the new Soviets.”Mr Ponomarekno is the defence reporter with The Kyiv Independent newspaper.Around 47 of the city's 52 stations have features enabling them to be used as bomb shelters, and they have been used as such during the current invasion.The system is the oldest and largest underground network in the country, and has become the main source of protection as Russian bombs and missiles rain down on the country.The Arsenalna station, located in the Pecherskyi district is thought to be the safest station to go to, as it is the deepest of all of them.It goes down underground by around 346ft, or 105.5 metres.

Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone claimed three years ago that he would like to see Russian President Vladimir Putin “running Europe” because “he’s a good guy”. Putin has been widely condemned for ordering the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has brought terror to the eastern European country over the past six days. Russia has ignored calls to de-escalate violence, instead pouring hundreds of thousands of troops across the border while firing missiles into residential areas of Kyiv and Kharkiv.

Co-founder of Factory Records and renowned humanitarian Alan Erasmus has told friends 'I'm not having this' before vowing to fly out to war-torn Ukraine.

Sean Penn said he "walked miles" to the border of Poland on Monday from Ukraine, where he has been filming a documentary about Russia's invasion. The actor took to Twitter to share an update just days after it was revealed he was in Kyiv to film a documentary about the escalating conflict. "Myself & two colleagues walked miles to the Polish border after abandoning our car on the side of the road," Penn revealed in his tweet on Monday.

New Order.In a new message to the writer, broadcaster and Haçienda DJ Dave Haslam, Erasmus explained that he is travelling to Ukraine’s capital Kyiv to help those affected by the country’s ongoing conflict with Russia.“I’ve fought bullies of one kind or another all my life, Putin is no different,” he wrote. “This is a very, very, very important moment in history Dave, it cannot be lost.”He continued: “Once there (with Durutti in mind) I will set about convening the Factory Nentsov Column made up of fellow helpers and volunteers.” The Durutti Column was an Anarchist column in the Spanish Civil War made up of volunteers who wanted to fight for an egalitarian society.Message received this morning from Alan Erasmus co-founder of Factory Records.

Ukraine has drawn swift and wide-ranging condemnation from the international community, which has imposed unprecedented sanctions against President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle and pushed the Russian economy to a breaking point, with the ruble plummeting to historic lows on Monday.Amid calls for a boycott of Russian films that have received government support and a strident response from European media groups, cultural institutions, film festivals and industry confabs, the backlash has rattled Russian filmmakers with long-standing personal and professional ties to the continent’s screen industry.“The need for Europe to make a clear anti-war statement is understandable and necessary. However, banning all Russians from the major cultural events is not only unhelpful — it’s harmful,” said one veteran producer.

Ukrainian soldiers are trying to find ways to entertain themselves, and their compatriots, during difficult times as footage shows them moonwalking on the front line. As Russia's invasion of the country ramps up, a group of Ukrainian heroes have taken to TikTok to show that it's not all doom and gloom on thebattlefield.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has broken a 24-hour social media silence to thank Prince William and Kate Middleton for their support as his country faces a massive onslaught from invading Russian forces. People following the charismatic Ukrainian leader breathed a sigh of relief as his first tweet of the day dropped, after reports that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had sent a bloodthirsty special forces hit squad to take President Zelenskyy out.But despite the incredible pressure he’s under, the comedian turned president – who won his country’s version of Strictly and dubbed Paddington’s voice for the Ukrainian release of the popular kids’ films – didn’t forget his manners.

Vladimir Putin once tried and failed to stop Manuel Neuer from moving to Bayern Munich from Schalke.The World Cup-winning German goalkeeper has played for Bayern since 2011 after signing from boyhood club Schalke after two decades with the side.Until recently, Schalke were sponsored by Gazprom, the state-owned Russian energy company, with whom Putin is understood to have a large influence in their major dealings.As a result, Putin was said at the time to have been desperate for Neuer to stay at Schalke back in 2011 but was unable to stop his £27million transfer from the club to Bayern.Speaking at the time, Schalke chairman Clemens Toennies told Bild: "He [Putin] was absolutely convinced Manuel should stay, he was a huge fan of his."But with Manuel it was not a question of the money we could pay him - we had to accept that.

Most of us are very lucky as to never experience the threats posed by potential nuclear warfare in our country.

With Russia invading Ukraine, the world's attention turns to that of nuclear war.

Boris Johnson has condemned President Vladimir Putin with his "strongest remarks yet" as the conflict continues in Ukraine.

Mystery symbols are being tagged onto Ukrainian buildings which are being reportedly marked for Russian airstrikes, according to sources in Kyiv.

Actor Sean Penn has told fans that he 'walked miles' to the Polish border after being caught up in the Ukraine invasion.

Piers Morgan has taken to Twitter to slam the international community over their handling of Vladimir Putin.The outspoken star questioned what’s to stop him “taking other countries” amid his “nuke threats”.This comes amid Putin ordering his military to move nuclear weapons to a "special mode of combat duty" during his invasion of Ukraine.Piers took issue with the international response to this in a series of tweets earlier today.In view of his 7.9 million followers, he penned: “If Putin succeeds in taking Ukraine by scaring us all off with his bulls**t nuke threats, what’s to stop him taking other countries including those in NATO?“Once you cave to a bully, they keep bullying. #StopPutinNow.”In another tweet, Piers shared his concerns about the lack of intervention over a 40-mile convoy of Russian military vehicles.Satellite images this morning show these vehicles en route to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.The former Good Morning Britain host shared his frustration at the lack of military intervention from NATO.He fumed: “There’s a 40-MILE convoy of Russian military vehicles heading towards Kyiv to surround the city, trap the people there, and bomb them into submission.“Are we really just going to sit back and watch Putin do this?“There’s a war crime unfurling in front of us.

Olympic gold medal-winning rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabaeva is rumoured to be the woman behind Russian war monster Vladimir Putin.And she made a rare public statement back in 2021 after 'vanishing', following reports she had given birth to twins.Two and a half years after she was last seen in public, Kabaeva sent a message of support out to Russia's women gymnastics team in which she said they were "ready and set to win for your country".Kabaeva, now 38, won bronze in all-around at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, upgrading to gold in the same category at the 2004 Athens games.Having been engaged to policeman David Museliani until their split in 2005, reports in recent years suggest that she is rumoured to be the long-term partner of Putin - and that she has had three children in the last seven years.Of course such reports are impossible to verify with the Kremlin, but according to the Spectator one outlet was shut down in Moscow for describing her in 2008 as his mistress.Her 2021 statement came two years after she was last seen in public, with reports saying she gave birth to twin sons in Moscow's Kulakov maternity clinic in 2019 having had a daughter in 2015.A source close to the former gymnast said regarding the reports: "We do not comment on the rumours."Kabaeva won a total of 14 World Championship medals, and 21 European Championship medals during her glittering career, and was a torch bearer at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.Should all Russian athletes be banned from competing? Give us your thoughts in the comments sectionPutin has previously said: "I have a private life in which I do not permit interference.

Russia has carried out it's deadliest missile attack on Ukraine overnight since the conflict began killing over 70 people.

Franz Ferdinand have cancelled their upcoming shows in Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine last week.The Scottish band have become the latest act to axe their planned Russian gigs in the wake of the widely condemned Vladimir Putin-ordered military assault, with Yungblud, Green Day and the Russian rapper Oxxxymiron also scrapping shows in recent days.After speaking out in support of the “open and welcoming” people of Kyiv last week, Franz Ferdinand have confirmed this morning (March 1) that their scheduled gigs in St Petersburg and Moscow on June 29 and July 1 will no longer take place.The band said in a statement that “the only reason for this is the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian state”.“We love Russia. This great country has inspired our band through its art and literature and since we first played there 17 years ago, we have built a rich and deep relationship with our Russian fans,” the band said.“Since Thursday morning [February 24], we have spoken to many of our friends in Russia via social media and have encountered unanimous opposition to this violence and solidarity with our Ukrainian friends.