Football evening on the Ukrainian front: after 0-0 draw against Italy: “We need a march offensive”

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On the Bakhmut battlefield, things are difficult for Ukraine. But in the command center of the missile unit of the 80th Ukrainian Brigade, there was a good mood on Monday evening. The reason: the European Championship qualifier between Italy and Ukraine, which flickers hesitantly across the screen on the wall.

The windows are covered light-tight and the room in the vacant house in the small hamlet almost 15 kilometers behind the facade is heated to a feeling of 25 degrees. Here and there the muffled rumble of artillery can be heard from outside. Commander Yaroslav (34) and his men sit on the bench and the stacked rocket crates in the command post.

Celebrate with volleys of rockets

A win in the game would be a huge motivation boost for his unit. “Then we have something to look forward to next year during the European Championship summer evenings,” says Yaroslav, as he takes a long sip of his zero percent beer. Alcohol is still banned in Ukraine’s frontline areas. Dried fish and Ukrainian cookies are available.

The game is slow. The fighters of the 80th Brigade begin to wonder how they would celebrate a victory. “With a few rocket shots towards the Russians,” says one.

But it doesn’t get that far. The game of football is like the war outside in the cold winter of Donetsk: Ukraine defends itself, fights, struggles.

But you can’t get past a difficult draw against the overwhelmingly powerful opponent (Russia has the second largest army in the world, Italy is the reigning European football champion). The game ends 0-0. Ukraine has to go to the play-offs at the end of March. “Now we just need a March offensive,” says soldier Marian (30).

Will there be a battle between the warring countries?

Shaiba and Haika, the two gray house cats, wander among the ammunition boxes and old furniture of the homeowners who fled the war. “Now they just have to comfort us,” said Taras (33), the deputy commander.

But the EM dream lives on. Ukraine could face Israel in the European Championship play-offs. In the geopolitical arena, the two war-torn countries are currently fighting for international aid and attention. There may soon be a battle on the field for the European Championship ticket.

On March 26 we will know for sure whether Ukraine will reach the final. It currently seems almost certain that Yaroslav and his men will still have to battle the dangerous battlefield draw in the European Championship months of June and July.

Source: Blick