Shakhtar Donetsk, one of Ukraine’s most decorated soccer clubs, will complete another season in exile this month — 11 years after fleeing its industrial base in the eastern region of the war-torn country.
Home matches were staged in other Ukrainian cities, where the number of fans granted entry is determined not by the seating capacity but by the size of the on-site bomb shelter.
Home matches in European competitions have meant trips to Poland and Germany. And because Ukrainian airspace is closed, travel beyond its borders often takes two days.
Shakhtar left its home in 2014 after Russian separatists took Donbas Region amid the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea.