Ukraine returns to soccer field with win
The Ukrainian men’s national team returned to action Wednesday for the first time since the invasion by Russia, winning 2-1 at German club Borussia Monchengladbach in a charity fundraiser.
The friendly was a chance for the Ukrainians to get back into form ahead of a World Cup qualifying playoff game against Scotland next month, but also just to show their team is still going, despite everything.
“We thank you all for your great help,” former world heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko, whose brother Vitali is mayor of Kyiv, said in a video message to the German club and fans. It felt as if “both (teams) are playing for us,” he added.
The squad for the unusual club-versus-country friendly was assembled from Ukrainian clubs whose league seasons were frozen Feb. 24 on the morning Russian troops invaded.
Ukraine has banned men of fighting age from leaving the country during the war, so the players needed special permission to travel. Some have been touring Europe for weeks, first with the Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk clubs playing fundraising games, then at a national-team training camp in Slovenia.
Coach Oleksandr Petrakov said when the Ukrainian anthem was sung before the game, “I had tears in my eyes.“
Svitolina says tennis players must not be silent: Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina wants Russian and Belarusian players to say whether they oppose the war in her nation.
“For us, for Ukrainians, it’s very important that they speak out, that they choose which side they take. We want to know, we want to feel safe about that. Because if they don’t say their opinion on this, we don’t know if they support their government, if they support the action of the army,” Svitolina said. “Because in Russia and Belarus, sport is a big propaganda.”
In the interview, Svitolina, 27, also addressed mental health and feeling overwhelmed by the anguish of war. Mental strain led to the Ukrainian’s decision to take a break from tennis and consult a psychologist. She said the stress also accentuated ongoing back problems, which will cause her to miss this month’s French Open.
“For me, it’s been a really rough couple of months mentally to hold everything on my shoulders. That’s why it was a better decision to take my time to really settle down,” she said. “To be on top of the game, you have to be 100% mentally and physically fit. For me, it was not the case.”
Wimbledon, which starts June 27, has barred players from Russia and Belarus because of the war. The French Open, starting May 22, is allowing them to compete as neutral players. For Svitolina, it’s more about breaking silence.
“I feel like they need to speak up about their position. This is very important,” she said. “I think every Russian and Belarusian athlete should take their position, so that we know that there (are) no bad people among us.”
Svitolina, who is married to French tennis player Gael Monfils, was asked if any Russian and Belarusian players personally told her they are against the war.
“Very few. This is very sad because many athletes from different countries came up to us and showed us their support,” Svitolina said. “That’s why it really hurts us and we don’t understand why exactly they (Russian and Belarusian players) didn’t.”
Her charity foundation is helping Ukrainian children who have fled.
“We’re doing our best to raise funds for Ukrainian kids. I want to keep their dream alive, even though they went through horrible times,” Svitolina said. “Some kids got a chance to escape. Right now, we have kids who are placed in the academies in Europe. We pay for their training, for their food, their accommodation.”
Svitolina also is suffering mentally and finds ways not to get overwhelmed by the war.
“I take my time during the day to just switch off my phone. This really helps me to be calmer,” she said.
Track athletes in Albania: After fleeing from a war zone, several young Ukrainian track and field athletes have made their way to safety in Albania and are training at the Sport Club Elbasani with help from the Albanian Olympic committee and the city itself.
“I miss my mother’s food and grandmother’s advice,” said 17-year-old Maria Lariva, who throws the shot put. “I miss my coach and the stadium, my city, home, my country, everything.”
Lariva and seven other teenage athletes were evacuated from Bakhmut, a city in the Donetsk region that is part of Ukraine’s industrial heartland — where Russia has focused its fighting after its early failure to sweep across the country and overrun the capital. Their families have stayed behind.