LIVE: UN overwhelmingly votes to condemn Russian invasion of Ukraine, demands withdrawal

Russia will be barred from participating in the Eurovision song contest in 2022 over its invasion of Ukraine, the European Broadcasting Union said on Friday.

"In the context of the unprecedented crisis unfolding today in Ukraine, there were fears that a Russian participation this year would bring discredit to the competition," the body said in a statement.

"Before taking its decision, the EBU took the time to carry out a wide consultation with its members."

The announcement appears to reverse the decision made less than 24 hours earlier, where it had said both Ukraine and Russia would still be allowed to participate in the "non-political cultural event."

Russia has been taking part in the competition since 1994 and has won 23 times.

In 2021, they came ninth place with their entry "Russian Women":

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called on the Ukrainian army to overthrow their government, whose leaders he described as “terrorists” and “a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis.”

Putin also accused “Ukrainian nationalists” of deploying heavy weapons in residential areas of major cities to provoke the Russian military, a claim that could fuel fears Moscow is creating pretexts for justifying civilian casualties.

Addressing the Ukrainian military in a televised address, he urged them to “take power in your own hands.”

“It seems like it will be easier for us to agree with you than this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis," he said.

Putin also praised Russian troops, saying they were acting in a “couragous and professional manner.”

“They are successfully solving the most important task of ensuring the security of our people and our Fatherland,” he said

The daughter of Dmitry Peskov, press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin, has posted on social media, seemingly in opposition to the war started by her father's boss.

In an Instagram story sent to Middle East Eye, Elizaveta Peskova, who lives and works in France, posted "No to war". The post has since been deleted.

Earlier on Friday, the daughter of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovitch - who has close connections with Putin's administration - also posted on Instagram a picture apparently opposing the war:

The Taliban-controlled government of Afghanistan released a statement on Twitter on Friday urging restraint and expressing concern for civilians involved in the Russia-Ukraine war.

"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine and expresses concern about real possibility of civilian casualties," said Taliban government spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi.

"The Islamic Emirate calls for restraint by both parties. All sides need to desist from taking positions that could intensify violence.

"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, in line with its foreign policy of neutrality, calls on both sides of the conflict to resolve the crisis through dialogue and peaceful means.

"The Islamic Emirate also calls on parties to the conflict to pay attention to safeguarding the lives of Afghan students and migrants in Ukraine."

Sharply rising oil prices will have "major effects on public finances" and Tunisia is heading towards raising domestic fuel prices again within days, a Tunisian government official told Reuters on Friday.

Tunisia, which subsidises domestic fuel prices, was already seeking a foreign rescue package to help it avert a looming crisis in its public finances before the crisis in Ukraine led to a big increase in global oil prices this week.

Tunisian President Kais Saied suspended parliament and assumed executive powers in July in a move widely seen as a coup.

The Turkish Red Crescent announced on Friday that it was sending three trucks full of humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Kerem Kinik, chairman of the humanitarian organisation, said it had decided to send the trucks after the Ukrainian Red Cross asked for help.

“We have general purpose tents, disaster tents for sheltering families, beds, blankets and things like sleeping bags in the trucks,” he said. “They will leave for Ukraine today.”

Civilians in rebel-held areas in northern Syria have expressed solidarity with Ukrainians and cast doubt on the impact of western sanctions.

“My colleagues and I have painted murals on the walls of our houses destroyed by Putin-backed Assad, to show our support for the Ukrainian people,” Aziz al-Asmar, a Syrian graffiti artist, told Middle East Eye.

“Russia does not care about shedding the blood of thousands of innocent people, for its own interests,” Asmar said, from in front of a mural he painted on the wall of a house bombed during the war east of Idlib province.

“We have suffered a lot by false Russian promises. I hope the Ukrainians will not suffer,” he added.

Russia-Ukraine war: How Syrians in Idlib feel about crisis

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in a telephone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday, praised the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying it was a "correction of history".

Damascus is a staunch ally of Moscow which intervened in the Syrian civil war in 2015 by launching air strikes to support the Assad regime's struggling forces.

"President Assad stressed that what is happening today is a correction of history and a restoration of balance in the global order after the fall of the Soviet Union," said a statement from the Syrian presidency.

Assad also said that "Syria stands with the Russian Federation based on its conviction that its position is correct and because confronting Nato expansionism is a right for Russia". 

During Friday's phone call, Assad said "Western nations bear responsibility for the chaos and bloodshed," accusing them of using "dirty methods to support terrorists in Syria and Nazis in Ukraine".

Formula One on Friday said it will not race in Russia this season, saying it was "impossible" to do so after the country launched an invasion on neighbouring Ukraine.

The race was scheduled for 25 September at Sochi's Olympic park.

Turkey has been suggested as a potential replacement having been used twice in the last two years, stepping in for races cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel had told a news conference that he would not take part in the Russian Grand Prix if it went ahead.

World champion Max Verstappen also said racing in a country at war was "not correct," Reuters reported.

US-owned Haas ran their car in Barcelona testing on Friday in an all-white livery, having taken off all branding representing title sponsor and Russian potash producer Uralkali.

Team principal Guenther Steiner also acknowledged that the outfit's Russian driver Nikita Mazepin, whose father owns Uralkali, faces an uncertain future.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has attended the race in the past, even handing out the trophies on the podium.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed Nato and the EU for not doing more to support Ukraine following the Russian invasion.

Erdogan, who had largely attempted to take a middle ground on Russian and Ukraine prior to the invasion, said western nations were failing to put words into action.

"Nato should have taken a more decisive step," Erdogan, whose country is a member of the military alliance, told reporters. 

"The EU and other pro-western (bodies) have failed to take a serious and determined stance at the moment. They are all providing Ukraine with plenty of advice." 

He added that an upcoming Nato summit on Friday should "not turn into a mere array of advice and condemnation". 

"I hope that today's Nato summit demonstrates a more determined approach," he said. 

The deputy leader of Sudan's military-led ruling body, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo - widely known as Hemeti - was in Moscow yesterday for talks with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

On Wednesday, Hemeti heaped praise on Russian President Vladimir Putin, and said that Russia had a right to "defend its own interests" in Ukraine.

Among the Sudanese delegation was finance minister Gibril Ibrahim, leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), formerly an opposition group. Back home in Sudan, there are rumours that Hemeti is being isolated by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto head of state and chief of the Sudanese armed forces.

Burhan is thought to be trying to remove Hemeti from his position as leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, and to strip Hemeti's brother from his role as commander.

Burhan and Hemeti are united in their opposition to Sudan's civilian leadership, but are also personal rivals with different sources of power and wealth.

With the United States opposing last October's military coup, orchestrated by Burhan and with the support of Hemeti, Russia has emerged as a key ally, particularly for the RSF leader, who benefits from the help of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group.

Thirteen Ukrainian soldiers based on Snake Island in the Black Sea were killed by a Russian warship on Friday, after defiantly telling the Russian vessel "go fuck yourself".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the men as "heroes of Ukraine" after the strategically important island was captured by the Russians.

“All the defenders of Snake Island died, but they did not surrender,” he said, in a video posted on Telegram.

Audio emerged online of the last moments on the island, which became an important outpost following Russia annexation of Crimea in 2014, revealing a last act of defiance from the soldiers.

“I am a Russian warship. I suggest you lay down your arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed and unnecessary victims, or you will be bombed,” the Russian warship said.

“So that’s it... Should I tell them to fuck themselves?” a male Ukrainian soldier is heard saying.

“Well, just in case,” replies a female Ukrainian soldier.

“Warship, go fuck yourself.”

Tunisia has said it is planning to evacuate its students in Ukraine through Poland and Romania.

The minister of health said that many had already reached Bucharest and the country had sent a plane for evacuation.

Thousands of students from the Middle East and North Africa have been left scrambling to find a way out of Ukraine after Russia invaded its neighbour.

Figures from the Ukraine education ministry show that Morocco has the second-largest foreign student contingent in Ukraine, with 8,000 students. India has the most.

Egypt has 3,500 students in Ukraine, while Lebanese, Iraqis and Palestinians also attend Ukrainian universities.

Russia-Ukraine war: Thousands of Arab students stranded as bombs fall

The 2022 Champions League final will be played in Paris after Russia was stripped of the match following its invasion of Ukraine.

The final had been due to be played in St Petersburg on 28 May but instead the European football governing body has decided it will be held at the Stade de France in the French capital.

An Egyptian cabinet spokesman has said that between domestic production and strategic reserves Egypt has enough wheat to cover nine months of need. 

He acknowledged that while Egypt can buy from producers away from the Ukraine conflict, Egypt will have to pay higher prices due to limited global supply.

Tunisia's ministry of agriculture, which imports nearly 50 percent of its wheat supplies from Ukraine, has said it has enough stored for the next four months.

Ukraine and Russia provide much of the world's wheat, and countries across the Middle East are likely to be hit with price rises if supplies are disrupted.

As the world's largest importer of wheat, Egypt would likely be severely affected. The most populous Arab country - home to 102 million - imported 12.5m tonnes of wheat in 2020-21, with almost 85 percent coming from Russia and Ukraine.

"Egypt will be deeply affected in case the war erupts between Russia and Ukraine," Hesham Abuldahab, a member of the grains section at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, told Middle East Eye. "Most of our wheat imports come from these two countries."

Algeria and Libya which are also significant wheat importers are expected to be impacted as well.