UEFA has spoken: The European football body won't recognize Crimean clubs' results in Russian Cup matches.
The decision is a blow to Moscow, Russian football, and possibly Russia's planned hosting of the 2018 World Cup, since their inclusion in the Russian Cup matches suggests Russian football officials acted against UEFA regulations. The clubs were being folded into Russian competition after the unrecognized annexation of Crimea. Here's a good breakdown of the situation. Here's a report on a remarkable exchange at a recent meeting of top Russian soccer executives, highlighting their fears of UEFA punishment.
The question is how or whether Russia will be penalized.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin have spoken by telephone. Here's what's emerged so far from that conversation:
- The Kremlin reports that Putin told Merkel further aid delays to Ukraine were "unacceptable," according to AFP.
- Reuters then quoted the Kremlin saying Putin expressed to Merkel "serious concern" over military escalation in eastern Ukraine.
- The Kremlin said Putin and Merkel discussed steps their countries could take to help achieve cease-fire in Ukraine as soon as possible.
The Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council repeats its assertion -- based in part on passports and other documents seized during the fighting -- that Russian regular troops have joined pro-Russian forces in the battle for Ilovaysk:
PM Yatsenyuk tells questioners in a Hromadske TV interview that Ukraine can't get by without Russian gas:
On Hromadske TV, Ukraine Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says Russia has been planning its invasion "since 2004," when the Orange Revolution derailed Kremlin-backed candidate Viktor Yanukovych's fraud-based path to the presidency (in Ukrainian):
...and says, "Frankly, the invasion began six months ago":
"Yatsenyuk: Putin's goal -- to restore the Soviet Union":