A Ukrainian footballer was brought to tears by the show of support he received from fans at a match on Sunday.

Roman Yaremchuk was a second half substitute in Benfica’s 3-0 victory over Vitoria SC over the weekend.

As Yaremchuk entered the fray shortly after the hour mark, the entire stadium rose to its feet to welcome the Ukrainian striker.

 

Acknowledging the crowd, Yaremchuk was moved to tears by the show of support for his home country in Portugal.

Similar scenes were seen at Goodison Park on Saturday, when Everton’s Vitaliy Mykolenko and Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko shared an embrace before their side’s clash.

 

Next 24 hours “crucial” for Ukraine

Boris Johnson has told President Volodymyr Zelensky he will do “all he could” to ensure further military aid reaches Ukrainian forces, Downing Street has said.

The Prime Minister spoke to the Ukrainian president again on Sunday, praising the “heroic” resistance of the Ukrainian people in the face of the Russian attack, according to the No 10 readout of the call.

Mr Zelensky said, in turn, that the next 24 hours will be “a crucial period” for his country.

“The Prime Minister lauded the bravery of the Ukrainian people following the Russian invasion and praised the leadership of President Zelensky in the face of such adversity,” a No 10 spokesman said. “The resistance of the Ukrainian people was heroic, the Prime Minister added.

“President Zelensky said he believed the next 24 hours was a crucial period for Ukraine, and the Prime Minister said he would do all he could to help ensure defensive aid from the UK and allies reached Ukraine.

“The leaders agreed to continue to stay in close contact and the Prime Minister reiterated the UK’s staunch support for Ukraine’s sovereignty.”

Are sanctions on Russia working?

The Russian rouble sank nearly 26% against the US dollar early on Monday after Western nations moved to block Russian banks from the Swift global payment system.

The rouble was trading at a record low 105.27 per dollar (£78.95), down from about 84 per dollar (£63) late on Friday.

Over the weekend, Japan joined the moves by the US and other western nations to impose more sanctions against Russia.

Restrictions on the Russian central bank target its access to more than 600 billion dollars (£450 billion) in reserves the Kremlin has at its disposal. They hinder Russia’s ability to support the rouble as it plunges in value.

Sanctions announced earlier had taken the Russian currency to its lowest level against the dollar in history.