Ticket sales have started for next year's World Cup in Russia.
Fans can start applying for tickets to any of the 64 games, with prices ranging from 1,280 rubles ($22) for the cheapest tickets — a price available to Russian fans only — to $1,100 for top-level seats at the final.
FILE- In this Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017 file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin and FIFA President Gianni Infantino present the FIFA World Cup trophy at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, Russia. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)
There's no need to rush with the application, since there's a lottery system for requests. Applications made by Oct. 12 will be collected and buyers picked at random.
Qualifying is still under way and the draw is set for Dec. 1. Russian fans know the dates and locations of their team's group games, but not the opposition.
Another application phase will begin on Dec. 5.
The tournament kicks off June 14 and runs through July 15.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv needs Patriot missiles to create an air shield against further Russian missile attacks, and it's likely he'll get them in an additional $6 billion aid package expected to be announced by the U.S. as soon as Friday.
Zelenskyy discussed the need for Patriots early Friday at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a coalition of about 50 countries gathering virtually in a Pentagon-led meeting. His address marked the second anniversary of the group, which has “moved heaven and earth” since April 2022 to source millions of rounds of ammunition, rocket systems, armored vehicles and even jets to help Ukraine rebuff Russia's invasion, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the meeting.
The meeting was expected to focus largely on air defense systems, Austin said.
Zelenskyy said at least seven Patriot systems are needed to protect Ukrainian cities. “We urgently need Patriot systems and missiles for them,” Zelenskyy said. “This is what can and should save lives right now.”
U.S. officials said the aid package will be funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays for longer-term contracts with the defense industry and means that it could take many months or years for the weapons to arrive. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public.
The new funding — the largest tranche of USAI aid sent to date — will include a wide array of munitions for air defense, such as the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System, or NASAM, and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, as well as the Patriot munitions, Switchblade and Puma drones, counter drone systems and artillery.
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group has been meeting about monthly for the past two years and is the primary forum for weapons contributions to Kyiv for the war.
Friday's meeting follows the White House decision earlier this week to approve the delivery of $1 billion in weapons and equipment to Ukraine. Those weapons include a variety of ammunition, such as air defense munitions and large amounts of artillery rounds that are much in demand by Ukrainian forces, as well as armored vehicles and other weapons.
That aid, however, will get to Ukraine quickly because it is being pulled off Pentagon shelves, including in warehouses in Europe.
The large back-to-back packages are the result of the new infusion of about $61 billion in funding for Ukraine that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on Wednesday. And they provide weapons Kyiv desperately needs to stall gains being made by Russian forces in the war.
Bitterly divided members of Congress deadlocked over the funding for months, forcing House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to cobble together a bipartisan coalition to pass the bill. The $95 billion foreign aid package, which also included billions of dollars for Israel and Taiwan, passed the House on Saturday, and the Senate approved it Tuesday.
Senior U.S. officials have described dire battlefield conditions in Ukraine, as troops run low on munitions and Russian forces make gains.
Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, the U.S. has sent more than $44 billion worth of weapons, maintenance, training and spare parts to Ukraine.
Among the weapons provided to Ukraine were Abrams M1A1 battle tanks. But Ukraine has now sidelined them in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press.
Follow the AP's coverage of Russia's war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.
Sec of Defense Lloyd Austin during a House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Defense budget hearing Fiscal Year 2025 on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, April 17, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Davyd Arakhamia, a lawmaker with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party, talks during an interview with Associated Press in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
FILE - In this image released by the U.S. Department of Defense, German soldiers assigned to Surface Air and Missile Defense Wing 1, fire the Patriot weapons system at the NATO Missile Firing Installation, in Chania, Greece, on Nov. 8, 2017. U.S. officials say the Pentagon is expected to announce that it will provide about $6 billion in long-term military aid to Ukraine. It will include much sought after munitions for Patriot air defense systems and other weapons. (Sebastian Apel/U.S. Department of Defense, via AP, File)
