UKRAINIAN STARS JOIN FIGHT AGAINST RUSSIA

SIX of Ukraine’s current team have announced they have joined their military to fight Russian aggression, ahead of their delayed World Cup showdown against Scotland in June. Scotland’s play-off against the war-torn nation was postponed until the summer after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Government is set to issue special permits to allow their international footballers to leave the country to prepare for future games at training camps, which would allow them to be exempt from the martial law rule that orders all males between 18-60 to stay in the country.

However, six players from Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk, who were all in Ukraine’s last squad in November, have decided to contribute to the military fight. Shakhtar’s Taras Stepanenko, Serhiy Kryvtsov and Mykola Matviyenko announced they were now on military service, along with Dynamo trio Serhiy Sidorchuk, Mykola Shaparenko and Heorhiy Bushchan.

A joint statement said: ‘We are now actively helping the Ukrainian army and war-affected residents of this country. In addition, we have helped to create a fund which will help to deliver more supplies and necessities to those who need it.’