Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately 600,000 square kilometres (230,000 sq mi). Prior to the ongoing Russian invasion, it was the eighth-most populous country in Europe, with a population of around 41 million people. It is also bordered by Belarus to the north; by Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; and by Romania and Moldova to the southwest; with a coastline along the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to the south and southeast. Kyiv is the nation's capital and largest city. Ukraine's state language is Ukrainian; Russian is also widely spoken, especially in the east and south.
Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko, or Andrii Mykolaiovych Shevchenko is a Ukrainian football manager, a former professional football player and a former politician. Shevchenko played as a striker for Dynamo Kyiv, AC Milan, Chelsea and the Ukraine national team. He was head coach of Serie A club Genoa.
Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. In 2014, due to the War in Donbass, the club was forced to move to Lviv, and had played matches in Lviv (2014–2016) and in Kharkiv (2017–2020) whilst having its office headquarters and training facilities in Kyiv. In May 2020, Shakhtar started to play home matches at NSC Olimpiyskiy in Kyiv.
Oleg Vladimirovich Blokhin, or Oleh Volodymyrovych Blokhin, is a former Ukrainian and Soviet football player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of his generation, Blokhin was formerly a standout striker for Dynamo Kyiv and the Soviet Union.
The Ukraine national football team represents Ukraine in men's international football and is governed by the Ukrainian Association of Football, the governing body for football in Ukraine. Ukraine's home ground is the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv. The team has been a full member of UEFA and FIFA since 1992.
Football Club Arsenal Kyiv is a Ukrainian football club based in Kyiv. In 2019, the club's professional team was dissolved, but its junior teams continue to compete in city competitions. The club claims to be a successor of Kyiv Arsenal factory team which traces its history back to 1925. The original factory team used to compete in the Soviet Class B, but was relegated in 1964 and officially dissolved.
Anatoliy Oleksandrovych Tymoshchuk is a Ukrainian football coach and a former midfielder, currently an assistant coach of the Russian Premier League club Zenit Saint Petersburg. Tymoshchuk is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of Shakhtar Donetsk and Zenit Saint Petersburg, and is also a former captain of the Ukraine national team.
The Ukrainian Premier League or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha it was formed in 1991 as part of the 1992 Ukrainian football championship upon discontinuation of the 1991 Soviet football championship and included the Ukraine-based clubs that competed previously in the Soviet top three tiers competitions as well as better clubs of the Ukrainian republican competitions. The initial season of the league featured six former Soviet Top League clubs among which were Dynamo, Shakhtar, Chornomorets, Dnipro, Metalist, Metalurh as well as four more clubs that previously also competed at the top league.
Serhiy Stanislavovych Rebrov is a Ukrainian professional football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is in charge of UAE Pro League side Al-Ain.
Willian Borges da Silva, known as Willian, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Fulham.
Yuriy Mykolayovych Kalitvintsev is a football manager and former player who manages Polissya Zhytomyr.
Sergiy Eduardovych Stakhovsky is a Ukrainian former professional tennis player. Stakhovsky turned professional in 2003 and played mostly at the Challenger level from 2005 to 2008. His career-high rankings were World No. 31 in singles and No. 33 in doubles.
Andriy Mykolayovych Yarmolenko is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Emirati UAE Pro League club Al Ain and captains the Ukraine national team.
Frederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos, known as Fred, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and the Brazil national team.
Ruslan Volodymyrovych Malinovskyi is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Marseille, on loan from Serie A club Atalanta, and the Ukraine national team. He is a set piece specialist and possesses a powerful and accurate shot with either foot.
The Russo-Ukrainian War has been ongoing between Russia and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and supported pro-Russian separatists in the war in Donbas against Ukrainian government forces; fighting for the first eight years of the conflict also included naval incidents, cyberwarfare, and heightened political tensions. In February 2022, the conflict saw a major escalation as Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Zinchenko is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a defender or midfielder for Premier League club Arsenal and the Ukraine national team.
Oleksii Yuriyovych Reznikov is a Ukrainian lawyer and politician who has served as the Minister of Defence of Ukraine since 4 November 2021. Reznikov previously has served in several other positions in the government of Ukraine; Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration from 2016 to 2018, and deputy mayor-secretary of the Kyiv City Council from June 2014 to December 2015. Reznikov also served as Head of Ukraine's National delegation in Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe from 2015 to 2016, and was chosen by President Volodymyr Zelensky on 5 May 2020 to represent Ukraine in the working political subgroup at the Trilateral Contact Group regarding a settlement to the War in Donbas.
Mykhailo Petrovych Mudryk is an Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Chelsea and the Ukraine national team.
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy is a Ukrainian politician and former comedian and actor who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019.
