Beyond the world of sports, the visibility of Ukraine’s footballers is crucial in raising awareness of the country’s struggles.
Ukrainian footballers have been increasingly making their mark on the global stage, especially in the English Premier League. A decade ago, only five Ukrainians had ever played in this elite competition, but recently, five Ukrainians played on the same day.
- Please don’t call the war in Ukraine ‘global instability’
- Speaking global: Ukraine’s push for English language proficiency
- In economic terms, Ukraine is unlikely to overburden the EU
This visibility takes on added significance considering Ukraine’s ongoing conflict with Russia. Post the February 2022 invasion, Ukrainian clubs organized a Global Tour for Peace to raise funds for those affected.
Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk led this initiative, also preparing the national team for their World Cup qualifiers. By July 2022, funds from these matches contributed to equipping Ukrainian soldiers with protective gear and medical supplies. In August 2023, Tottenham Hotspur, a Premier League club, hosted a pre-season friendly match against Shakhtar Donetsk, which successfully raised 505,000 UK pounds to support Ukraine.
Ukraine has historically lacked a voice
Ukraine’s history is marred by instances of suppression and tragedy, such as the Holodomor, a famine orchestrated by Stalin between 1932-33 in which millions of Ukrainians starved to death.
Western journalists, like Walter Duranty from The New York Times, downplayed the severity of the famine in their reports. Duranty praised Stalin as a strong leader and was even awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting from the USSR. He wrote in 1933 that: “There is no actual starvation or deaths from starvation, but there is widespread mortality from disease due to malnutrition . . . conditions are bad. But there is no famine.”
In contrast, journalists like Gareth Jones risked their lives to bring the truth to light. Jones was the only reporter from the West who went to see the famine in Ukraine for himself. But when he told people what was happening, many did not believe him. Other Western reporters in Moscow, like Duranty, wrote stories repeating Soviet propaganda to make people doubt Gareth’s reports.
The full extent of the Holodomor was unveiled only after the fall of the Soviet Union, revealing a genocide that eliminated 13 per cent of Ukraine’s population. The loss of the Holodomor to public memory was called the “final act of the crime” by historian Gerhard Simon.
Jones was also subsequently murdered, most likely in revenge for exposing the truth about the genocide, by Stalin’s NKVD in 1935.
In the postwar era, Ukrainian exiles attempted to speak up and keep the memory of the Holodomor alive. It wasn’t until the release of The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivisation and the Terror-Famine by British historian Robert Conquest in 1986 that the Holodomor received widespread acknowledgment in Western countries.
Prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, The Holodomor had never been officially recognised nor condemned by the collective international community. That all changed as Russia invaded Ukraine as now 30 countries recognise the Holodomor as a genocide.
Waning support in Europe for Ukraine’s fight against Russia
A Eurobarometer survey in August 2023 revealed a shift in EU citizens’ support for Ukraine. The survey showed that 24 per cent “totally agree” with “financing military equipment and training to Ukraine”, a decrease from 33 per cent in April 2022, two months into the invasion. Overall support for military funding to Ukraine dropped from 67 per cent to 48 per cent during this period, while opposition rose from 26 per cent to 34 per cent.
Ukrainian footballers playing abroad serve as ambassadors for their country. Their success on the field is a reminder of Ukraine’s resilience and need for support. These athletes are symbols of hope, inspiring their compatriots and keeping Ukraine’s plight in the global consciousness. They’re constantly driving awareness of the Russo-Ukrainian war and driving fundraisers.
Two prominent players from the British Premier League have been especially strong vocally advocating for Ukraine: Oleksandr Zinchenko expressed his daily anger and vowed not to stay silent about the war in his homeland. He pledged to fight for Ukraine, saying, “There will be a time everyone will be there. It will be the last call. All of us will go.” Zinchenko was honoured with the Media Diversity Champion of the Year award for his protests against Russia’s invasion.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk (pictured above) emphasised his desire to help by promoting the truth on social media: “I want the entire audience I have on social media to listen so that people know the truth, perceive actual information instead of twisted propaganda. Other Ukrainian Premier League players like Everton’s Vitaliy Mykolenko also continue to give interviews and raise awareness about the war in Ukraine.
Zinchenko and former football legend Andriy Shevchenko are ambassadors for the official Ukrainian government fund United24. They both organised a charity game in the UK to raise funds to rebuild the Mykhailo-Kotsiubynskyi School in Chernihiv Oblast, which was shelled by the Russian army in March 2022.
Football is more than just a game
Ukrainian footballers playing abroad are doing more than just showing their skills on the field; they’re becoming important voices for their country.
Their success in football is helping to share Ukraine’s story, which has often been ignored or forgotten.
The haunting legacy of the Holodomor, where millions of Ukrainians were deliberately starved, underscores the importance of giving Ukraine a voice on the global stage.
These footballers help keep attention on what is happening in Ukraine and that is more important than ever to keep the West united in helping Ukraine.
Unlike many news and information platforms, Emerging Europe is free to read, and always will be. There is no paywall here. We are independent, not affiliated with nor representing any political party or business organisation. We want the very best for emerging Europe, nothing more, nothing less. Your support will help us continue to spread the word about this amazing region.
You can contribute here. Thank you.
Add Comment