FIGURES across Ukrainian football have voiced their defiance in the face of the Russian invasion with some forming battalions to defend their country.
One of the country’s largest clubs, SC Dnipro-1, has created a battalion to defend their city, which will be led by Yuriy Bereza, the club president and leader of the "Dnipro-1" Regiment.
The Dnipro-1 regiment was formed in 2014 as a special forces unit during the 2014 Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Bereza said: "I have created a volunteer battalion to protect the city of Dnipro and Dnipropetrovsk region, against an invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine.
"I will be the commander of the battalion. I appeal to my brothers and sisters, you know the place of gathering when it happens.”
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Elsewhere, Dynamo Kyiv have promised to carry on their business as usual despite the ongoing conflict.
Kyiv president, Igor Surkis, said: "All our players are here training. I can assure our fans, these players are not going to go anywhere.”
The club itself issued a statement calling for unity amongst all Ukrainians.
The statement said: "We are on our land and we will not give it to anyone. For us, the truth is victory.
"We will definitely win and Ukrainians from Uzhhorod to Luhansk, from Chernihiv to Sevastopol will be proud of the fact that they are citizens of a great state called Ukraine. Glory to Ukraine, Glory to the nation.”
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The Dynamo manager, Mircea Lucescu, also commented on the crisis and vowed to stay in Ukraine rather than return to his native Romania.
He said: "I will not leave Kyiv, I will not return to Romania, I am not a coward.
"I hope this war, started by idiots, will be stopped as soon as possible. I never thought it possible that the war would start.”
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The Ukrainian top flight, which had been in its winter break since December 12, was scheduled to resume on Friday but has now been suspended for a minimum of 30 days.
This suspension would go two days beyond the Ukrainian national side’s scheduled match with Scotland at Hampden on March 24. While not a primary concern, it is highly unlikely that the match between Scotland and Ukraine will be able to go ahead.
Governing body Uefa have announced a meeting will take place on Friday morning to assess the situation and outline their options.
A Uefa statement said: "Following the evolution of the situation between Russia and Ukraine, the UEFA president has called an extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee for 10:00 CET on Friday 25 February, in order to evaluate the situation and take all necessary decisions."
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