AssetID: 53848393
Headline: RAW VIDEO: Chelsea's Mykhailo Mudryk Leads Ukrainian Stars In Highlighting The Realities Of Playing EURO 2024 Amid A War
Caption: Chelsea star Mykhailo Mudryk has spoken out about what it will be like to play in EURO 2024 while his parents are in danger from Russian shelling in his hometown of Krasnohrad. As they prepare to kick off their EURO 2024 campaign, Ukraine’s football stars have issued a heartfelt video reminder of the war continuing in their homeland and how it has devastated the places where they grew up. Mudryk and Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin are from Krasnohrad in Kharkiv Oblast. It has been shelled by the Russian army since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine in 2022. The Kharkiv region has also borne the brunt of a recent Russian offensive. Speaking about what it is like knowing his parents are in harm’s way, the 23-year-old winger said: “Since the beginning of the full-scale war, my city has been bombarded with missiles day and night. Despite this, my family remains in Krasnograd. My parents continue to build their lives there and always believe in the victory of Ukraine." Reminiscing about his youth in Krasnohrad, he added: "My parents are teachers, but my dad and I had a tradition of going to the stadium in Krasnograd to play football after work. Then I asked my parents to take me to the football section.” Many of Ukraine’s squad are from places now occupied by Russian troops or that have been devastated by fighting. For example, the village of Velyka Novosilka, where Dynamo Kyiv player Mykola Shaparenko is from, has been completely destroyed. There is no electricity or water and instead of 6,000 residents, only 300 remain in the village. A similar situation occurred in Zaporizhzhia, the hometown of Serhii Sydorchuk, midfielder for the Belgian club Westerlo. The players of Shakhtar Donetsk, Oleksandr Zubkov and Mykola Matvienko, Maksym Talovyerov of the Austrian club LASK, and Anatoliy Trubin of the Portuguese FC Benfica also cannot return to their hometowns of Makiivka, Saky, and Donetsk, because they are temporarily occupied by Russian troops. This is also true for the hometown of the head coach of the Ukrainian national team, Serhiy Rebrov - Horlivka in Donetsk Oblast. In fact, former Spurs player Rebrov has not been home for over 10 years since Russia staged a limited invasion of the Donbas region in 2014. The video also features more stars familiar to Premier League fans, Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko, and AFC Bournemouth’s Ilya Zabarnyi. As well as Genoa’s Ruslan Malinovskyi, Artem Dovbyk, the top scorer in Spain’s La Liga, and Viktor Tsygankov, who like Dovbyk plays for Girona. Although each hails from areas that have avoided occupation thanks to fierce fighting, the prospect of Russian shelling is a reality for many areas under Ukrainian control. Ballon d’Or winner Andriy Shevchenko, who now serves as the President of the Ukrainian Association of Football said that his team’s efforts to win EURO 2024 were a part of his country’s fight for its freedom. "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,” he explained. “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.” He also hopes the team’s participation in the tournament would encourage European countries to do more to help Ukraine fight off the Russian invasion. “Our cities desire to host the EUROs, but now they are fighting not for the tournament, but for freedom,” Shevchenko added. “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." EURO 2024 gets underway in the host nation Germany on Friday (14June2024), with Ukraine’s Group E campaign getting underway on Monday with a game against Romania in Munich.
Keywords: mudryk, ukraine, russia, war, feature, video, photo, EURO 2024, football, sport, soccer
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