Zelensky accuses Russia of supporting Hamas operations in Israel

9:12pm: Israel-Hamas war risks ‘distracting’ from Ukraine, says Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that the violence engulfing Israel and Gaza risked distracting international attention from the war in his own country.

“There is a risk that international attention will turn away from Ukraine, and that will have consequences”, he said in an interview with French broadcaster France

Zelensky accuses Russia of supporting Hamas operations in Israel

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday accused Moscow of supporting the Palestinian militant group Hamas in its war against Israel. This came after the president travelled to Romania for the first time since Russia’s invasion to speak to President Klaus Iohannis about artillery and air defence supplies. Read our live blog to see how all the day’s events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives to attend the European Political Community summit in Spain on October 5, 2023. © AF

9:14pm: Kyiv ‘certain’ Russia supporting Hamas operations, says Zelensky

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday accused Russia of supporting the Palestinian militant group Hamas in its conflict against Israel. “We are certain that Russia is supporting, in one way or another, Hamas operations”, Zelensky said in an interview with the France 2 television channel.

“Russia is really trying to carry out destabilising actions all over the world,” he added.

9:12pm: Israel-Hamas war risks ‘distracting’ from Ukraine, says Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that the violence engulfing Israel and Gaza risked distracting international attention from the war in his own country.

“There is a risk that international attention will turn away from Ukraine, and that will have consequences”, he said in an interview with French broadcaster France 2.

The tragedies affecting his Ukraine and Israel “are different, but both are immense”, he said.

9:08pm: EU’s von der Leyen says she spoke to PMs of Estonia and Finland over damaged gas pipeline

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she had spoken to Finland Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Estonia Prime Minister Kaja Kallas regarding damage to a gas pipeline and telecoms cable between the two countries.

Russia, which was competing with Bulgaria and Albania for two open spots allocated to the Eastern Europe regional group, received only 83 votes in a UN General Assembly vote.

4:12pm: UEFA says abandoning plans to re-admit Russian under-17 teams

European football‘s governing body said Tuesday it had abandoned plans to re-admit Russian under-17 teams into the youth European Championship next year.

“No technical solution to allow Russian teams to play could be found,” UEFA said.

Ukraine later thanked UEFA for their decision.