In one image, an unexploded missile juts angrily from the pitch, as if hurled to earth by a furious God; in another, a devastated grandstand peers from beneath a sea of rubble and mangled steel—as Russian bombs continue to rain down on the country, such sights have become dishearteningly common for Ukrainian football supporters.
Yet despite the war, Ukraine’s football scene has survived, albeit in a strangely surreal form far removed from the matchday experience that fans know in the West.
“Games are interrupted whenever an air raid alert sounds,” says Ostap, a football blogging soldier, “and the number of spectators allowed inside a stadium is limited to the capacity of the ground’s bomb shelter.”
“Games are interrupted whenever an air raid alert sounds,” says Ostap, a football blogging soldier, “and the number of spectators allowed inside a stadium is limited to the capacity of the ground’s bomb shelter.”
At Dynamo Kyiv, the country’s most decorated club, that has meant a cap of 1,700 fans, with the team’s longest enforced break-in-play recorded at four-and-a-half hours. This, though, pales in comparison to the exploits of others.
“Air raid sirens are quite common,” Ostap tells TVP World, “and in the professional leagues, there have been cases where a match has had to be played the following day because the alert was too long.”
“Air raid sirens are quite common,” Ostap tells TVP World, “and in the professional leagues, there have been cases where a match has had to be played the following day because the alert was too long.”
That football has resumed at all is a tribute to the indomitable spirit of the Ukrainian people. “After Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, football completely disappeared for a while because our lives changed so dramatically,” says Ostap.
“For several months, not a single football match was held in the country because everyone was busy fighting the enemy,” he adds.
Slowly, however, the nation acclimatized to the grim new reality posed by its misfortune. “After a few months, we got used to the fact that there was a big war going on,” says Ostap, “and the first charity matches began to be held, during which funds were raised for the army, and fallen soldiers were honored.”
“Though some were canceled altogether, the autumn of 2022 saw league and cup competitions resume, and while there are far fewer teams now than before, people need to be distracted, so football continues to fulfill its social function.”
“For several months, not a single football match was held in the country because everyone was busy fighting the enemy,” he adds.
Slowly, however, the nation acclimatized to the grim new reality posed by its misfortune. “After a few months, we got used to the fact that there was a big war going on,” says Ostap, “and the first charity matches began to be held, during which funds were raised for the army, and fallen soldiers were honored.”
“Though some were canceled altogether, the autumn of 2022 saw league and cup competitions resume, and while there are far fewer teams now than before, people need to be distracted, so football continues to fulfill its social function.”
For Ostap, too, football has provided a chink of normality amid the chaos of the conflict. “In civilian life, I worked in IT,” he says, “but currently I’m a soldier, developing the capabilities of the Ukrainian army in one of the logistics sectors.”
Growing up in the central city of Poltava, supporting the local side Vorskla, Ostap became an active ‘groundhopper’ in 2012 after moving to Kyiv, subsequently visiting hundreds of stadiums in 30 countries and co-authoring a series of books about Ukrainian football.
Growing up in the central city of Poltava, supporting the local side Vorskla, Ostap became an active ‘groundhopper’ in 2012 after moving to Kyiv, subsequently visiting hundreds of stadiums in 30 countries and co-authoring a series of books about Ukrainian football.
“With the start of the full-scale war, all my football plans were put on pause,” he says, “however, recently I’ve resumed my social media activity—I want people outside of Ukraine to learn more about football during the war.”
With restrictions on public gatherings eased last year, crowds have filtered back to the stands despite the obstacles posed by the fighting.
“Over 500 sports facilities have been destroyed or damaged, but it’s difficult to estimate how much time and resources will be needed for their restoration as some of these are located in temporarily occupied territories or active combat zones,” says Ostap.
With restrictions on public gatherings eased last year, crowds have filtered back to the stands despite the obstacles posed by the fighting.
“Over 500 sports facilities have been destroyed or damaged, but it’s difficult to estimate how much time and resources will be needed for their restoration as some of these are located in temporarily occupied territories or active combat zones,” says Ostap.
The scale of the destruction becomes all the more apparent when browsing his photographs. At the Chernihiv Arena, we see bomb craters and shell fragments littering the pitch, and disfigured metal structures that Ostap likens to “sieves.”
“Despite the damage, there are many people at the stadium,” writes Ostap, “[and] the city's sports life continues as before.”
This can be more than said for others. At Irpin’s Tax University Stadium, visitors to Ostap’s blog are presented with haunting pictures of shattered stands and broken roofs. “No football matches will be held here in the near future,” he writes with a hint of wry understatement.
“Despite the damage, there are many people at the stadium,” writes Ostap, “[and] the city's sports life continues as before.”
This can be more than said for others. At Irpin’s Tax University Stadium, visitors to Ostap’s blog are presented with haunting pictures of shattered stands and broken roofs. “No football matches will be held here in the near future,” he writes with a hint of wry understatement.
While some would dismiss the recommencement of football as frivolous during a time of war, its importance for the morale of the nation has not been lost on others. “People in Ukraine love football, but this is a complex issue,” admits Ostap.
“On the one hand, all our efforts and resources must be directed towards fighting the enemy, but on the other, it's important to maintain our sporting life, even during war—otherwise, what are we fighting for?” he says. “Football is a way for us to rediscover positive emotions; it’s a part of normal life, but of course it’s important that we never forget that our priority is fighting the enemy.”
“On the one hand, all our efforts and resources must be directed towards fighting the enemy, but on the other, it's important to maintain our sporting life, even during war—otherwise, what are we fighting for?” he says. “Football is a way for us to rediscover positive emotions; it’s a part of normal life, but of course it’s important that we never forget that our priority is fighting the enemy.”
Even inside the stadiums, though, it is impossible to escape the shadow cast by the conflict—as if to serve as a reminder of the prevailing situation, it is not rare to find the opening kick taken by a soldier or a soldier’s child. “It’s a good tradition,” says Ostap.
Football has also served to unify the country in a way that could not have been imagined before, with the country’s hooligans and notorious Ultras setting aside bitter rivalries for the duration of the war.
Football has also served to unify the country in a way that could not have been imagined before, with the country’s hooligans and notorious Ultras setting aside bitter rivalries for the duration of the war.
“In 2014 [when Russia first invaded Ukraine], a truce was reached between all the fan movements, which resulted in the cessation of inter-club hostilities,” says Ostap. “All the fans united in the fight against the single external enemy.”
However, it has not just been fans picking up arms to fight for their country. “Sadly, more than a hundred players, coaches and referees are known to have already died since February 2022,” says Ostap. “Each of these has their own unique story, but what brings them together is that they were all killed by Russia.”
However, it has not just been fans picking up arms to fight for their country. “Sadly, more than a hundred players, coaches and referees are known to have already died since February 2022,” says Ostap. “Each of these has their own unique story, but what brings them together is that they were all killed by Russia.”
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