Artem Genne’s favourite footballing memory is standing on the Donbas Arena pitch, waving the Champions League flag, before Shakhtar Donetsk faced Chelsea.
That was in 2012. Two years later, the Russian-backed capture of Donetsk led many Ukrainians to leave the city, including ardent Shakhtar supporter Genne.
A large number fled to other areas of Ukraine and beyond, with the region’s football club forced to find a new home. Fourteen years later, they are still searching.
It has led Shakhtar to Kyiv, Lviv and Kharkiv in Ukraine, and Poland, Slovenia and Germany for European games.
This season they will play their home Champions League fixtures at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, with Genne, who now lives in the West Midlands, aiming to attend all four – starting with AEK Athens on Wednesday.
“When the invasion started, lots of people left, thinking that it’s all going to be over in several weeks, we’ll be coming back. But unfortunately, that didn’t happen,” he says.
“When I meet people from my home area of Ukraine abroad, it gives you a sense of home and hope.
“Knowing that you’re sharing the values and you remember the times when it was different, that’s important. It gives you a bit of a soft tear because that’s something you cannot touch any more.
“In the UK, people are very supportive and I want to highlight that I’m extremely grateful to this country for hosting so many of our people at the most difficult time.
“When you’re walking around in a Shakhtar shirt, people are clapping their hands and giving you high fives and there is no aggression whatsoever.”
Since the Russian-backed annexation of East Ukraine, Donetsk have featured in some form of European competition every season. [Getty Images]
Dima Prasolov, who left Donetsk for Kyiv after the war started and now lives in Kent, is another who will be supporting, with fans able to buy a four-game pass.
“I was ecstatic because it’s the first time in about 15 years that I will be able to buy some sort of a season ticket for Shakhtar,” says Prasolov.
“It really means everything to me because it’s the club I’ve been supporting all my life. But since the Russian invasion, for us Donbas people, watching our team regularly is almost impossible.
“For me, it’s a very emotional situation, because of how much the club means to me and how dedicated myself and my family are to the club.”
Indeed, the London stadium offers a brief safe haven from the uncertainty faced in Ukraine.
Chief executive Sergei Palkin says Shakhtar have had to move their under-12 team to a safer area of Kyiv following recent attacks, while their women’s side had a match disrupted by a nearby drone strike.
“Every day when our team goes to the pitch, it’s much more than football because behind it we have a lot of challenges every day,” says Palkin.
“It’s a human question, a mental question, a family question for our players, for the academy and so on. The most difficult and important challenge is uncertainty.
“You wake up in the morning and you don’t know what’s going to happen today or tomorrow.”
Palkin adds: “Part of our role when we play in London and other cities in Europe is to send these messages and remind people what’s going on.”
Shakhtar’s general director is hoping for an average of 30,000 supporters at Stamford Bridge for the four home games. [Getty Images]
This week’s occasion is more important than just watching Shakhtar. It will be a chance for Ukrainians to come together in London, even involving rival fans.
The dynamic of Ukrainian football support has changed for many clubs since the invasion in 2022. Shakhtar’s fanbase, meanwhile, has shifted since 2014, with many ultras fighting in the war but still supporting their clubs from afar.
“My two friends are supporters of Dynamo Kyiv, but in Europe we support each other,” Genne says.
“It’s about representation of the country. The hooligans don’t fight any more with each other because they know they have one enemy and it’s not the football enemy.”
The decision to play in London was met with some scepticism in Ukraine because of the difficulty for fans to visit the UK – a visa costs £135 and you must apply at least three months before entering.
One Shakhtar fan, who is speaking anonymously but attends many home and away games in Ukraine, says: “That sort of money for some Ukrainians is a monthly income. And no-one has time in Ukraine now to wait a few months for a visa.
“So the poor thing is we want to support the team, but we can’t go to support because the regulation in England is crazy now.”
Instead, fans will watch in pubs all over the country, with similar support from beyond Shakhtar’s traditional fanbase.
The fan adds: “When Shakhtar play, it’s like a big family. It’s more than rivalry because they represent Ukraine. Ukraine is always the first place. Then comes football.”
Shakhtar Donetsk have played home European games in Germany, Poland and Slovenia since Russia’s invasion in 2022 [Getty Images]
It is expected many fans in attendance will be travelling from within the UK to watch Shakhtar, which is a common occurrence for the Miners when they have previously played away games in England.
When tickets went on sale for the club’s away leg against Crystal Palace in the Europa Conference League semi-final last season, and when they played Arsenal in the 2024-25 Champions League campaign, Shakhtar’s allocation sold out in an hour.
Prasolov explains: “The club are making a big gamble on the existing Ukrainian population in London, of which in west London there is a big Ukrainian diaspora that’s been there for a number of years.
“They are actually a very passionate fanbase of all things Ukraine. Any time Ukrainian teams plays in London, they always turn up.
“There will be lots of Ukrainian national songs and chants. It will be a good atmosphere for sure. I think people will enjoy it. It will be very friendly.”
It is also an opportunity to celebrate Ukrainian culture, with many fundraising activities helping to fund supplies in their home country.
“There’s a massive community,” says Genne. “There are constantly events like concerts with Ukrainian artists and they fund-raise for med kits, for equipment, for everything.
“We’re all united by the symbol to liberate our country and to do what we can. Even though we’re far away, we help with what we can.
“It’s great that there will be another reason for Ukrainians to get together. It’ll be something positive rather than something that’s not so positive, which unfortunately is happening a lot more lately.”
The club want to use this opportunity to bolster relations with Ukrainians living in London.
Palkin says: “We have a very good connection with the Ukrainian diaspora in England.
“We will do activities with Ukrainian children living in London. We will come to schools, bring them to training sessions and connect them with the team.
“For Ukrainian people living here, it’s a good connection to Ukraine.”
Stamford Bridge will host Shakhtar Donetsk’s four home Champions League league phase games [Getty Images]
London has welcomed many of the roughly 265,000 Ukrainians who took refuge in the UK, and Shakhtar hope to keep raising awareness of issues faced back home.
“For Ukraine, it’s very important to be visible at this moment of our history. And for us it’s very important because we are playing for our nation,” says Palkin.
“At this moment 99% of news coming from Ukraine is all negative. To see Ukraine represented in a tournament like the Champions League is very important. It means one message: that we are alive, Ukraine continues to fight, continues to work, continues to live and continues to compete on this stage.”
Amir, another Shakhtar fan in the UK, left Donetsk at 15 and now lives in London.
Seeing the club competing in the Champions League remains important to such supporters.
Amir says: “I think it is a beacon of hope. Seeing Ukrainian sportsmen succeeding internationally gives a lot of reassurance and a sense of power to the Ukrainian people.
“There is a sense of reconnection to their roots and the national achievements for Ukrainians living abroad.
“In a way it is quite important the club that is from Eastern Ukraine which is currently occupied by Russia is the club representing Ukraine internationally.
“It is important internationally as a reminder of the regional roots of Shakhtar and of Donetsk overall.”
Wednesday’s game against AEK Athens will mark an emotional moment for many Shakhtar and Ukraine fans, before Real Madrid, Sporting and Fenerbahce also visit.
Genne says: “Any sort of positive news, any positive results, are bringing people joy and making us a little bit happier.
“It doesn’t make us forget about all the rest of the things that are happening, but it makes us a bit more joyful.
“Like remembering what joy of life is, in supporting your club, having fun, coming together, having the sense of community.
“It’s way more than just football and analysing a player’s performance and goals. It’s way, way more than that.”
Discover more from NAIRAVOICE.COM.NG
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
