Tributes have been paid to the founder of a Ukrainian Manchester United fan group after the club confirmed his death.
With the devastating conflict in Ukraine still ongoing, the club said it was “deeply saddened” after finding out that Aleksander Kukin, one of the founding members of the Kyiv Reds supporters’ club and a much-admired Manchester United fan, had been killed after his car was shot at by Russian forces.
According to a statement by the Kyiv Reds on Monday (21 March), Aleksander’s wife and daughter were also in the vehicle at the time, and were caught in the crossfire, but survived the tragedy, and have since undergone operations in hospital.
“We send our heartfelt condolences for their loss and best wishes for their recovery, as they attempt to deal with these awful events,” Manchester United said.
The United family joins our #KyivReds in mourning the sad loss of Aleksander Kukin.
The Kyiv Reds began all the way back in 2002, and Aleksander was said to have been “instrumental” in its creation.
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In recent years, the club says that family commitments meant Aleksander could not commit as much of his time to the supporters’ club as he did previously, but his enthusiasm still remained, and a recent photo shared by the group showed him enjoying the 4-2 win over Leeds just a few weeks before the end of his life.
Since his passing, supporters have taken to social media to pay tribute to Kukin’s “energy and passion” for Manchester United.
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One fan, Ivan, wrote: “He used to take me to games in the local pub in Kyiv and drive me home after the midweek games when I was a kid. [He] posted my United articles on [the] Ukrainian Reds website and helped the growth of that movement nearly single-handedly, paying from his own pocket. Great great man.”
The Kyiv Reds began all the way back in 2002, and Aleksander was said to have been “instrumental” in its creation / Credit: Kyiv Reds
Another fan wrote: “RIP to our fellow red.
“Praying for his wife and daughter to be okay and to get through the horrible circumstances forced upon them that they have had to face recently.”
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Manchester United says it is exploring a number of ways in which it can “offer its support” to both Aleksander’s family and the Kyiv Reds.
Six teenage boys arrested following stabbing of 13-year-old in Rochdale town centre
Emily Sergeant
Six teenage boys have been arrested following the stabbing of a 13-year-old in Rochdale town centre over the weekend.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained that officers were called out to reports of a ‘serious assault’ near the Riverside Shopping Centre in central Rochdale on Saturday (29 August), and when they arrived on the scene, they found that a 13-year-old boy had been stabbed.
The young boy currently remains in hospital receiving treatment, while a police investigation into the incident is open and ongoing.
Two teenage boys were first arrested on suspicion of assault and possession of a bladed article on the same day the incident occurred (29 August), but have since been released on bail.
Officers then made four further arrests yesterday (31 August), again all teenage boys who were arrested on suspicion of assault and possession of a bladed article, with enquires ongoing.
A Section 60 and 60AA ‘stop and search’ authority was introduced in Rochdale town centre following the recent incidents in area and following reports of youths carrying weapons in the locality, and this has now been extended to 3pm today (Tuesday 1 September).
“This was a serious and sustained attack that could have had far more tragic consequences,” explained Detective Superintendent, Richard Hunt .”Our team of experienced detectives is working around the clock to understand exactly what happened, identify all those involved, and secure the strongest possible evidence.
“We will relentlessly pursue every lead available to us and will leave no stone unturned in bringing all those responsible before the courts.
“Community safety remains our absolute priority, and we are committed to ensuring those who seek to bring violence onto our streets are held fully accountable for their actions.”
Can you help? Anyone who witnessed the incident, was in the town centre at the time, or has any mobile phone, CCTV, or dashcam footage, is urged to come forward and speak to police on 101, quoting log 2750 of 29/08/2026, or using the LiveChat function on the GMP website.
Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Featured Image – GMP
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High School Musical at Lowry, Salford – a night spent reliving our childhood | Review
Amy Williams
What a night spent reliving our childhood.
Now, I don’t want to exaggerate or seem biased, considering this is one of my favourite film trilogies of all time, but this could be the best stage show I’ve seen in a long while.
We all know how High School Musical goes, right? Set at East High, we follow Troy and Gabriella (the star basketball player, and the geeky new girl) who meet over New Year, and then become ‘star-crossed lovers’ when back at school as they’re part of two different ‘cliques’.
The duo mess with the ‘Status Quo’ when they audition for the school musical. But will they stick to what they know? Or become stars of the stage? I’m sure you know the ending.
High School Musical is currently on stage at Lowry, Salford / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)
From the costumes and the characters, to the memorable songs (there’s actually 52 songs in this production, including a mega mix at the end), they’ve kept right to the script of the films – and that’s exactly what we wanted to see.
Of course, the biggest throwback of them all is Kaycee Stroh – who originally featured as Martha Cox in the film trilogy – taking the role as Ms Darbus, and she was just as incredible as we expected her to be. And to see her do the iconic dance in the finale was unbelievable, 13-year-old Amy was screaming.
Also featuring Jason Donovan as Coach Bolton, Tobias Turley as Troy, Leonor Correia as Gabriella, Caitlin Tipping Sharpay, and Luke Bayer as Ryan, it was a proper impressive cast all round.
It’s a night to properly relive your mid-00s childhood / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)
There was crowd interaction right from the off, as they taught the crowd a cheerleading routine to be included later in the show, plus for the finale, they had the lyrics on the big screen too so everyone could sing-along.
If we could go and see this show every single night, we would – it is absolutely brilliant.
Emily Sergeant -
23rd March 2022 
