Mykhailo Mudryk’s parents live in heavily bombarded Kharkiv Oblast (Picture: Getty)
As he prepares for his first Euro tournament, Chelsea and Ukraine star Mykhailo Mudryk has told of how his home city is being ‘bombarded day and night’ by Russian forces.
The winger joined 12 of his national team-mates for a powerful video showing the devastation being wrought on their neighbourhoods as a result of Vladimir Putin’s all-out invasion.
The message was released as the team told Metro.co.uk how at least 250 ‘superfans’ have fallen defending their country since the start of the full-scale war, with 77 stadiums completely or partially destroyed.
But the team credited every Ukrainian soldier with being a fan, saying: ‘One team is on the field because one million fans are on the battlefield.’
Mudryk, 23, spoke of how his parents remain in Krasnohrad as he joined team-mates for Euro 2024 in Germany.
A united show of support for their homeland has been given by Ukraine’s national team (Picture: The Ukrainian Association of Football)
Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko and Bournemouth defender Ilya Zabarnyi also appear as the team stands side-by-side in the message to the world released by the Ukrainian Association of Football.
Mudryk and Real Madrid’s Andriy Lunin both hail from the city in Kharkiv Oblast, which has been in the eye of attempted Russian ground assaults and continually shelled since the start of the war.
Waves of cruise missiles, drones and glide bombs are also being fired at the region, known for its defiant spirit.
‘My parents are teachers, but my dad and I had a tradition of going to the stadium in Krasnohrad to play football after work,’ Mudryk recalled.
‘Then I asked my parents to take me to the football section.’
Progressing rapidly through the game, Mudryk’s winner against Iceland in a play-off final booked Ukraine’s spot at Euro 2024.
Off the field, his home region has been in the eye of Putin’s full-blown attack, with Kharkiv city located around 25 miles south of the Russian border. Power outages have become part of daily life along with the unrelenting bombardment.
The Chelsea midfielder has joined team-mates telling of the devastation wrought on their homeland (Picture: The Ukrainian Association of Football)
‘Since the beginning of the full-scale war, my city has been bombarded with missiles day and night,’ Mudryk said.
‘Despite this, my family remains in Krasnohrad.
‘My parents continue to build their lives there and always believe in the victory of Ukraine.’
Mudryk’s national team-mates have also been pursuing careers at the highest levels of the game across Europe while the neighbourhoods they grew up in have been pounded or occupied by Russian forces and their proxies since the start of Russian military aggression in 2014.
Dynamo Kyiv player Mykola Shaparenko’s childhood village of Velyka Novosilka in Donetsk has been almost completely destroyed.
Only 300 out of 6,000 residents remain, with no electricity or water.
A similar situation exists in Zaporizhzhia, the home city of midfielder Serhii Sydorchuk, who plays his club football for Belgian side Westerlo.
Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko appeared in the message from the Ukraine team (Picture: The Ukrainian Association of Football)
The association said that Shakhtar Donetsk players Oleksandr Zubkov and Mykola Matviyenko, Maksym Talovyerov of Austrian club LASK and goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin of Benfica cannot return to Makiivka, Saky, and Donetsk respectively because they are temporarily occupied.
The team’s head coach Serhiy Rebrov has been unable to return to Horlivka in Donetsk Oblast for more than 10 years.
The video shows the Ukrainian players giving their names and the places they are from, accompanied by footage of the destruction wrought on their formerly picturesque neighbourhoods.
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The clip sends the message: ‘Our hometowns would like to host the Euros, but now they are fighting not for the tournament, but for freedom.’
The Uefa competition kicks off at 8pm tonight with Scotland taking on Germany at the Munich Football Arena. Ukraine play their first game on Monday, going up against Romania in the same stadium.
Andriy Shevchenko, World Cup Golden Ball winner and the association’s president, said: ‘We often hear that football is separate from war, but this video proves otherwise, showing that there is no Ukrainian football player, city, stadium, playground or child untouched by the war.
The team’s video carries a powerful message putting European football into context (Picture: The Ukrainian Association of Football)
Ukrainian players and fans have another fight away from the football pitch (Picture: The Ukrainian Association of Football)
‘We are here at Euro 2024 thanks to the incredible people fighting for our freedom, including hundreds of thousands of football fans who would rather be in the stands instead of on the frontlines.
‘Our cities desire to host the Euros, but now they are fighting not for the tournament, but for freedom.
‘That’s why we are calling on all participating countries in the European Championship to help Ukraine.
‘Football is not just a sport; it is also a powerful force — a symbol of solidarity, unity and the support our country desperately needs.’
A Ukrainian firefighter named Serghi works at the scene of a Russian drone strike in Kharkiv (Picture: Svet Jacqueline/ZUMA Press Wire)
A children’s equestrian club lies destroyed by a Russian missile strike in Kharkiv Oblast (Picture: Gwara Media/Global Images Ukraine via Getty)
The sacrifice made by Ukraine’s football community at lower league level was covered by Metro.co.uk in April 2022.
A fallen XI of players and coaches from the same league showed how they had switched from civilian lives to either defend their homeland or carry out humanitarian tasks at the start of the all-out attack.
The footballers represent only a fraction of the number who have either become casualties of the war or who are still serving on the frontlines.
The Ukrainian national team told Metro.co.uk: ‘Ukrainian football is as much affected by war as the whole country.
‘More than 500 objects of sports infrastructure in Ukraine have significant or partial damage due to the Russian invasion. As of April 2024, 77 football stadiums have been completely or partially destroyed.
‘We pay sacrifices daily as Russia attacks Ukraine daily.’
The fallen XI (from left, clockwise): Dmitry Martynenko, Igor Sukhih, Viktor Yurchenko, Oleg Naumenko, Sergiy Shestak, Yuri Kazistov, Alexander Ivaschik. Yriy Bloha, Valery Rysinsky, Oleksandr Sukhenko and Denys Kotenko
The blue and yellows referred to the evidence in the video of the damage inflicted on the childhood places they are representing at Euro 2024.
The team said: ‘Our football fans would like to be in the Euro stands but instead they are in the trenches. According to official data alone, more than 250 football superfans have fallen in battle.
‘But in reality, this number is much higher, because almost every person serving in the army is a football fan.
‘We are only at Euro 2024 because of them, the incredible people fighting for our freedom.
‘One team is on the field because one million fans are on the battlefield.
‘We call on all football players and fans to support their fellow players and fans who cannot be in the stadium right now because they are defending their country and freedom and the right to play football under the blue and yellow flag.’
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