Shortly before the conflict between Russia and Ukraine broke out, Andriy Shevchenko spoke on his social networks with some words of support for his compatriots. The former Ukrainian footballer, who is without a bench after being fired from Genoa, published this message yesterday, along with a photograph of the Ukrainian flag: “Ukraine is my homeland! I have always been proud of my people and my country! We have been through many difficult times and in the last 30 years we have shaped ourselves as a nation! A nation of sincere, hard-working, freedom-loving citizens! This is our most important asset!”.
Ukraine is my motherland! I have always been proud of my people and my country! We have gone through many difficult times, and over the past 30 years we have formed as a nation! A nation of sincere, hard-working and freedom-loving citizens! This is our most important asset! …https://t.co/sQxCFpwHIz pic.twitter.com/6LNW6Cw9oR
— Andriy Shevchenko (@jksheva7) February 23, 2022
“I will not leave Kiev to return to Romania, I am not a coward”
Mircea Lucescu, coach of Dynamo Kiev, has been one of the first to speak out after the Russian attacks. “All sports activity in Ukraine has been suspended for 30 days. I will not leave Kiev to return to Romania, I am not a coward. I hope that these brainless big people will stop this war. I never thought this was possible,” he said.
In terms of sport, Dynamo Kiev occupies the second position in the Ukrainian league, which is led by Shakhtar Donetsk. A season that is in doubt if it will be able to finish since the imposition of martial law in Ukraine has caused the paralysis of the championship until we see the progress of events.
During the first hours of this February 24, the feared war between Russia and Ukraine began. Vladimir Putin gave the green light to a military operation on the eastern country by attacking several of its military installations. The explosions happen throughout the morning in the capital, Kiev, and also in Kramatorsk, Odessa, Kharkov and Berdyansk.
The Ukrainian government has already confirmed the first fatalities. There would be at least eight dead and nine wounded after the bombings. The Kremlin, Putin assured, justifies the operation in search of “protecting people who are the object of abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime.” For the Ukrainian government, it is a “full-scale” invasion.