Following Mykhailo Mudryk’s transfer to Chelsea, Shakhtar Donetsk’s president, Rinat Akhmetov, has promised to donate £22 million to the Ukrainian war effort.
In a Sunday trade that set a record for Ukrainian football, the Premier League team acquired Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk for up to £89 million.
Naija News recalls that Russia and Ukraine have been at war since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Since then, thousands of Ukrainians have been displaced, hundreds of others killed, and billion of dollars worth of properties destroyed in the invasion. These have prompted global support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.
“I want to thank the entire civilized world for helping Ukraine,” said Shakhtar Donetsk president.
“Today we can talk about Ukrainian football thanks to the Ukrainian army, the Ukrainian people, and the tremendous support of the entire civilized world.”
As a way of helping to minimize the effect of the war, the president of Shakhtar Donetsk said the money from Mudryk’s transfer fee would be used to help the relatives of deceased troops, Mariupol defenders, and those in need of medical and prosthetic care.
Their bravery was unmatched in modern history, according to Akhmetov.
He added that Chelsea and Shakhtar would play a friendly game at the Donbass Arena in Ukraine. The proposed date for the friendly is yet to be announced but it is likely to be in the coming summer.
On the pain of selling Mudryk to Chelsea, he added: “I have never made it a secret that my dream is to win European trophies.
“This means that players like Mudryk should be invited to our club, to our Ukrainian championship, and we should win European trophies with such players.
“Unfortunately, it is impossible now, as Ukraine is fighting the horrendous and unjust war waged against us by the Russian Federation.”
