FIFA's anti-discrimination advisers are warning gay soccer fans going to the 2018 World Cup in Russia that displays of affection could be met with an aggressive response from intolerant locals.
People walk past a huge poster promoting the upcoming soccer World Cup 2018 tournament in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017. The World Cup will be played at 12 stadiums in 11 Russian cities. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993, but anti-gay sentiment remains strong and intensified after a law was introduced in 2013 prohibiting dissemination to minors of "propaganda" legitimizing homosexuality.
As fans prepare their trips after Friday's World Cup draw, the FARE network said it will produce a guide spelling out the threats to be prepared for in Russia.
"The guide will advise gay people to be cautious in any place which is not seen to be welcoming to the LGBT community," FARE executive director Piara Powar said. "If you have gay fans walking down the street holding hands, will they face danger in doing so? That depends on which city they are in and the time of day.
Fatma Samoura, FIFA Secretary General, left, and Vitaly Mutko, Russian Federation Deputy Prime Minister & Local Organising Committee Chairman walk inside a metro train branded for the 2018 World Cup during a ceremony in Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
"The guide will also include some detailed explanations of for example the actual situation of the LGBT community in Russia. It is not a crime to be gay but there is a law against the promotion of homosexuality to minors. Issues relating to the LGBT community are not part of the public discourse. Gay people have a place in Russia which is quite hidden and underground."
FARE, which monitors FIFA fixtures for discriminatory behavior, said it is unclear whether fans will be allowed to display rainbow flags inside stadiums.
"British and German fans' groups have asked FIFA if they are OK to raise a rainbow flag inside the stadium," Powar said. "FIFA has not really responded so far to say if this is something the security services will allow."
From left, Igor Akinfeev, Russian national soccer team goalkeeper, Fatma Samoura, FIFA Secretary General, Valentina Yashina, widow of famous Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin and Vitaly Mutko, Russian Federation Deputy Prime Minister & Local Organising Committee Chairman attend the unveiling of the 2018 World Cup official poster in Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
FIFA diversity head Federico Addiechi said he has seen no written request from fan groups on whether gay pride flags can be unfurled.
"There's nothing in the regulation from FIFA that prevents anyone from entering the stadiums with non-political messages," Addiechi said.
FARE has also has long-standing concerns about the reception black and ethnic minority fans will face around games in Russia.
"Do go to the World Cup, but be cautious," Powar said. "There are two elements to it — one towards people of color and other element is far-right nationalism. Far-right extremist groups have had around 300 people banned from attending the World Cup.
"After years of denial about racism Russian FA finally taking action, group under Alexei Smertin has been addressing the issue and fines have been issued."
Research for the 2016-17 by FARE and Russia-based SOVA showed there were 89 racist and far-right incidents at Russian games, slightly below the two previous seasons.
Russian champion Spartak Moscow was punished by UEFA for monkey chants in a recent Youth League game against Liverpool. Spartak was also fined for discriminatory chants against fans from Russia's North Caucasus in a domestic cup game last month.
Anti-discrimination observers will be deployed at the June 14-July 15 World Cup where matches can be stopped or abandoned if racism persists after warnings inside stadiums.
"The World Cup must be inclusive, respect human rights, must respect the rights of everyone including minorities," Addiechi said. "We have the assurance from the Russian organizing committee and the Russian authorities that everyone will feel safe, comfortable and welcome in the country."
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is poised to send $1 billion in new military aid to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Tuesday as the Senate moved ahead on long-awaited legislation to fund the weapons Kyiv desperately needs to stall gains being made by Russian forces in the war.
The decision comes after months of frustration, as bitterly divided members of Congress deadlocked over the funding, forcing House Speaker Mike Johnson to cobble together a bipartisan coalition to pass the bill. The $95 billion foreign aid package, including billions for Israel and Taiwan, passed the House on Saturday, and the Senate approval was expected either Tuesday or Wednesday.
The votes are the result of weeks of high-voltage debate, including threats from Johnson’s hard-right faction to oust him as speaker. About $61 billion of the aid is for Ukraine.
The package includes an array of ammunition, including 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. The U.S. officials said some of the weapons will be delivered very quickly to the battlefront — at times within days — but it could take longer for other items to arrive. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the aid had not yet been publicly announced.
Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, would not confirm the package or details, but said the U.S. has a robust logistical system in place, built over the past two years of weapons’ deliveries to Ukraine, and is “doing everything we can to be poised to respond quickly” once the bill is signed. He said the U.S. has storehouses of military equipment in Europe and — as it's done in the past — can tap those to get aid into Ukraine within days.
America’s infusion of weapons comes on the heels of an announcement by the U.K. on Tuesday, pledging an additional $620 million in new military supplies for Ukraine, including long-range missiles and 4 million rounds of ammunition.
The announcement reflects President Joe Biden’s promise Monday in a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the U.S. would send the badly needed air defense weapons once the Senate approved the bill. Zelensky said in a posting on X, formerly Twitter, that Biden also assured him that a coming package of aid would include long-range and artillery capabilities.
The latest tranche of weapons will be provided through presidential drawdown authority, or PDA, which pulls systems and munitions from existing U.S. stockpiles and sends them quickly to the war front. Some of the munitions are already in Europe, so could move within days to Ukrainian forces.
Last week, an array of U.S. leaders described how urgently Ukraine needs the infusion of aid. Without it, said CIA Director Bill Burns, Ukraine could lose the war to Russia by the end of this year. And Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told House members that conditions on the battlefield were shifting and Russian forces were making incremental gains.
Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, bluntly describe the situation to the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, saying Ukraine is facing ” dire battlefield conditions.” Desperate Ukrainian troops are rationing or running out of ammunition on the front lines.
During a virtual meeting last Friday of defense ministers in the NATO-Ukraine Council, Austin underscored the need for “immediate, concerted action” on air defense weapons for Kyiv, the Pentagon said. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Zelenskyy attended the meeting, along with other NATO allies.
Pentagon leaders were preparing to meet with defense officials from Europe and around the world on Friday to discuss international aid for Ukraine. The gathering — created by Austin and known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group — has been meeting about monthly for the past two years, but in recent sessions officials have expressed growing consternation over the U.S. gridlock.
More than $20 billion in the aid bill is earmarked to replenish U.S. military stocks that have been depleted because they were sent to Ukraine.
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. For the bulk of that time, the aid packages were moving routinely every few weeks. But the money was drying up by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. And by mid-December, the Pentagon said it had run out of money and had to stop sending weapons because, without the funding package stalled in Congress, it could no longer afford to replace them.
The $1 billion package was first reported by Reuters.
Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder speaks during a press briefing on Tuesday, April 23, 2024 at the Pentagon in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walks to the chamber as the Senate prepares to advance the $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan passed by the House, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., arrives as the Senate prepares to advance the $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan passed by the House, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
FILE - A steel worker manufactures 155 mm M795 artillery projectiles at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Scranton, Pa., Thursday, April 13, 2023. The Pentagon could get weapons moving to Ukraine within days if Congress passes a long-delayed aid bill. That's because it has a network of storage sites in the U.S. and Europe that already hold the ammunition and air defense components that Kyiv desperately needs. The House approved $61 billion in funding for the war-torn country Saturday, April 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder speaks during a press briefing on Tuesday, April 23, 2024 at the Pentagon in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
This photo, provided by head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration Oleh Kiper, firefighters work on the site of a damaged building after a Russian drone attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration Oleh Kiper via AP)
