Football Association of Wales refuses to play against Russia

The Football Association of Wales became the latest to announce its teams would refuse to play against Russia.

A statement read: “The Football Association of Wales (FAW) stands in solidarity with Ukraine and feels an extreme amount of sadness and shock to the recent developments in the country.

“The FAW expresses its condemnation for the use of force and the atrocities being committed by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.

“The FAW has decided that Cymru will not play any international fixtures against Russia for the foreseeable future, at any level of the game.”

FIFA, the international governing body for football, said no international matches will be held in Russia "until further notice". Notably, the FIFA stopped short of excluding Russia from the World Cup, as has been called for by many in the footballing world.

It comes as the FA said England will refuse to play President Vladimir Putin's country in international games.

The FA statement, released on Sunday, followed similar announcements by the football associations of Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic – all future or potential opponents of Russia in World Cup qualifying.

In Ukraine, Kyiv residents are emerging from a weekend-long curfew. Although shelling was reported overnight in the capital, the explosions and gunfire appeared to have lessened as the Kremlin's military advances were slowed by a determined resistance.

Shelling was also reported in Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv, an explosion was reported in the city of Cherkasy and a missile is reported to have hit a residential area in the city of Chernihiv.

Russian forces are reported to have taken the city of Berdyansk, a small port city on the country's southern coast which has a small naval base.