UKRAINIAN forces will be on high alert today over fears Vladimir Putin’s troops will launch a blitz during the Euros opener.
With hundreds of power generators dotted across Odesa and Kharkiv amid Putin’s onslaught, Ukrainians are well prepared to catch a glimpse of their national squad’s first Euro 2024 match against Romania.
Sergey Panashchuk/SAVE UA MEDIAYuri Prazdnikov watched the opening game between Germany and Scotland[/caption]
Sergey Panashchuk/SAVE UA MEDIABar owners in Odesa expect big crowds for Ukraine’s first Euros match against Romania[/caption]
Some Ukrainian soldiers said they won’t be watching the football while they defend their countrySergey Panashchuk/SAVE UA MEDIA
GettyUkrainian soldiers taking shelter in a bunker near Chasiv Yar, Ukraine[/caption]
GettyA Ukrainian soldier seen in a trench in Kherson, Ukraine[/caption]
Away from the brutality of the frontline, war-battered Ukrainians are seeking solace – and a glimmer of normality – in basement pubs and bars.
With pop-up screens and flags draped from the ceiling, bars in Odesa are expecting big crowds for Ukraine‘s opening game.
But it’s feared large crowds – whether in Ukraine‘s cities or in bunkers on the frontline – could attract missile and drone strikes from the Russians.
A Ukrainian commander in Odesa warned that the Russians forces will be “very interested” to find out when Ukrainians will be gathering to watch the football.
He told The Sun: “I cannot tell you if we are going to watch football.
“Imagine, let’s say, that the enemy knows that at a certain time we will gather to watch football.
“I am sure that they are very interested in finding out. What I can tell you is that we will be even more prepared to repel the Russian attack during Ukrainian fixtures at the Euros.”
A soldier with the call sign “Maverick” said there is no time or place for football in the trenches.
“Most people don’t understand what it is like to live in the trench. You always have to be alert,” he said.
“You can hear kamikaze FPV drones loaded with explosives from a distance of 25–30 metres, and you need to try to survive.
“It can attack you at any moment.
“There are also drones that throw grenades and mines from above – sometimes you can hear the sound of a falling grenade or mine, and you have like three seconds to move away.
“There is no time or place for football in the trenches.”
Another soldier told The Sun he will only watch the football when he returns home from war.
“The war is not a game,” he said. “Your life is always on the line.
“Sometimes we don’t have opportunities to call our wives and mothers for weeks.
“This is a totally different life and lifestyle. I am going to watch football when I am back home.”
Other troops said they will try to watch the football – but only when they are away from the frontlines.
Watching football in wartime
By Sergey Panashchuk in Odesa, Ukraine
Today, Ukraine is anticipating the first match of the national squad in Euro 2024 against Romania.
Football always had a special place in the hearts of Ukranians, and was treated almost like religion.
Will ordinary Ukrainians and will soldiers follow the Euro in the hardest and most turbulent moments of their history?
Last year, when I was in the Eastern Front, we watched a Dynamo Kyiv UEFA Conference League qualification game against the Turkish Besiktas with soldiers.
It was a surreal experience.
Imagine a summer house in a village a few kilometres from the frontline filled with soldiers who look like they are on vacation.
They just changed their shift in the trenches and came to their base to rest.
They were dressed in t-shirts and shorts, telling jokes to each other and heartily yelling to support their football team.
A soldier told The Sun: “We can watch football or anything else, but when we are not on the frontlines.
“We work shifts, three days in, three days out. When we have free time, we can spend it whenever we want, if it does not break the rules.
“No alcohol, but watching football, of course. Everyone has gadgets like mobile phones or tablets.”
On Monday, Ukraine said Russian forces are ramping up their attacks and trying to gain more territory before Kyiv’s army received more military aid from abroad – including F-16 fighter jets.
Russia has been advancing in Ukraine’s eastern region of Donetsk and further south – areas of the front that Kyiv has struggled to hold.
In Odesa, Putin’s forces have repeatedly attacked the port and the city’s downtown.
Last year, they destroyed the main cathedral in the centre of the city.
Their strikes crippled the Ukrainian energy system – intending to make the lives of ordinary people unbearable during blackouts.
What I can tell you is that we will be even more prepared to repel the Russian attack during Ukrainian fixtures at the Euros
Ukrainian Commander
Instead of waiting until the situation improved, local businessmen bought generators.
Big and small, they work on gasoline, diesel, and gas.
When you walk through the city centre, you can enjoy a “concert of generators”.
Installed near every restaurant, pharmacy, bank, or supermarket, and when they are all working together, it is loud.
That means Ukrainians are well prepared to watch football.
Last Friday, Yuri Prazdnikov and his friends gathered at “Varnia Sviata” to watch the opening game between hosts Germany and Scotland.
It’s a place designated to help rehabilitate soldiers and volunteers – where they can get counselling and support and have a good time with their friends over a beer and a snack.
Prazdnikov told The Sun: “Only a few people came, but we expect we will be completely full when Ukraine plays Romania this Monday.”
Fighting for freedom
Football is connected in the fight for Ukrainian independence.
Ultras and hooligans were one of the moving force in the protests against ex-president Viktor Yanukovich’s pro-Russian government in the end of 2013 and beginning of 2014.
The protests resulted in the Revolution of Dignity.
Thousands of ultras joined the army to fight Russian and pro-Russian soldiers in Donbass after the annexation of Crimea and the Russian occupation of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
And ultras played a crucial role in the political stability of the Odesa region.
On May 2, 2014, pro-Russian extremists tried to overtake the city – but they were stopped by football fans of Chornomorets Odesa and Metalist Kharkiv and locals who didn’t want to live under Russian rule.
Yuri Prazdnikov, now 44, watched the impact of the ultras and took part in the events.
The war is not a game… your life is always on the line
Ukrainian soldier
He told The Sun: “We knew that anti-social elements bribed by Russia were preparing to stage the clash.
“At first, I was riding a bicycle and reporting to our guys, where the pro-Russians were going to coordinate our response.
“When they came to Grecheskaya Square, they started shooting at us.
“We did not have fire arms, but we were well prepared and repulsed the pro Russian attacks.
“I was on the make-shift medical evacuation team. We were taking wounded people, stopping the cars, and sending them to hospitals.
“We did not check if the injured person shared our political views or not – we were just rescuing people.”
The events of May 2 shaped the future of Odesa – and forever linked football to Ukraine’s fight for independence.
Ukraine’s Euro 2024 fixtures
Romania v Ukraine – Monday, June 17 at 2pm
Slovakia v Ukraine – Friday, June 21 at 2pm
Ukraine v Belgium – Wednesday, June 26 at 5pm
GettyIt’s feared Putin will use the distraction of the Euros to launch attacks on Ukraine[/caption]
Football fan Ed plays table football in Odesa during the Germany-Scotland gameSergey Panashchuk/SAVE UA MEDIA