When Ukraine announced their squad for the upcoming European Championship in Germany, they did so with the help of some of the nation’s soldiers.
A video on social media depicted national team fans, several of whom were serving military personnel, announcing the players who had made the cut. It was a reminder that everything in Ukraine must be viewed through the prism of the war with Russia – including their participation in this summer’s tournament.
Manager Sergei Rebrov – a title winner in the UAE with Al Ain – summed it up when asked about the mood of his players upon sealing qualification through the play-offs. “There were pleasant emotions in the dressing room,” he said. “But overall, it was impossible to fully concentrate on the celebration. There is a war in our country and people die every day.”
A report from Business Insider in February 2024 suggested more than 400 athletes are among those to have lost their lives in the conflict so far – including many footballers, such as Sergey Balanchuk, a former Dynamo Kiev defender and teammate of Rebrov who was killed by artillery fire near Bakhmut in July 2022.
The Ukrainian website Sport Angels documents many of their stories and a scroll through its pages reveals the scale of the talent lost to the Russian invasion – from chess champions to athletes who had genuine aspirations of competing at the Paris Olympics this summer.
Such stories have clearly had a big impact on Ukraine’s footballers. "It is quite hard for them, they're always watching their phones, they're watching the news, same as me," said Rebrov. "In this atmosphere, it is not easy to work."
Many have thrown themselves into raising both funds and awareness. The Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko received special recognition from President Volodymyr Zelensky for helping to organise ‘Game4Ukraine’, a charity match at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge last August which generated more than $650,000 in donations.
The midfielder Taras Stepanenko has also been raising cash through his 'Stands of Heroes' initiative. The 34-year-old Shakhtar Donetsk captain was in Kyiv when war broke out and spent three days hiding in a basement with his wife and three children before arranging travel out of the country. He has been instrumental in galvanising his fellow professionals.
"In the early days of the war, I donated personal savings and helped collect other funds from the football family to buy medical aid for soldiers’ protection because at that time they didn’t have the same degree of supplies," Stepanenko told players' union Fifpro.
"We also visited injured soldiers in hospitals, we bought equipment that people needed, and we supported families by providing shelter.
"In my opinion, the most important work we are doing now is supporting the families of football fans who have died during the war. Stands of Heroes has helped more than 200 families through this fund, where donations are made each month to help the relatives of fallen soldiers until they get support from the government. I, along with many other Ukrainian footballers, support the project a lot.
"Our job now is not solely to be footballers, but to help support and protect our people, especially children."
That last sentence is reminiscent of the message from heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk ahead of last month's undisputed title fight against Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia. Like Usyk, Ukraine's footballers will hope their performances this summer can bring some respite and pride to their troubled homeland.
Given the sheer loss of life, disruption to the domestic game and damage inflicted on the country's sporting infrastructure by Russian bombs, the strength of Ukrainian football might be impacted down the line – but in the here and now they have an exciting young team with the potential to make an impression on this tournament.
Perhaps not since the days of Rebrov and his legendary strike partnership with Andriy Shevchenko – coach at the last Euros and now head of the country's FA – have Ukrainian players enjoyed such success with clubs across Europe's big five leagues.
They have the Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin in their ranks, a technically-gifted midfield with Stepanenko and Zinchenko joined by the prodigiously talented Georgiy Sudakov, and pace and skill on the wings through Girona's Viktor Tsygankov and Mykhailo Mudryk of Chelsea.
At the back they have two more Premier League players in the shape of Everton left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko and Bournemouth centre-back Illya Zabarnyi, while up front they are spearheaded by Artem Dovbyk, La Liga's golden boot winner, and a target for several established Champions League clubs this summer.
Ukraine, who have not been able to play a legitimate home game in more than two years, qualified after a pair of 2-1 wins in the play-offs, first over Bosnia and Herzegovina thanks to Dovbyk's winner, and then over Iceland courtesy of a Mudryk goal.
This summer they have landed in a group alongside Belgium, Romania and Slovakia. They will be based in Frankfurt and play their games in Munich, Dusseldorf and Stuttgart where they should enjoy considerable support – alongside Poland, Germany took the bulk of the Ukrainians displaced by the war, with an estimated 1.2 million now calling the country home.
Realistically, progress to the last 16 would represent a solid tournament for Rebrov's youthful side, but Sudakov, who at just 21 has been tipped as a star of the future and will be scouted by Europe's top clubs this summer, quite naturally refuses to put a ceiling on their ambitions.
And he, like his teammates, understands they will be playing for more than just points when their Group E campaign commences against the Romanians on Monday.
“Every match for the national team is incredible pride and responsibility,” he said. “I probably have double motivation in such difficult times for our country. When the national team plays we feel incredible support and give our people, for 90 minutes, some positive emotions.”
