Shakhtar Donetsk bring Ukrainian community together at Stamford Bridge for Champions League home games

A club without a home, finding one in London

Artem Genne's favourite footballing memory is standing on the Donbas Arena pitch, waving the Champions League flag, before Shakhtar Donetsk faced Chelsea in 2012. Two years later, the Russian-backed capture of Donetsk led many Ukrainians to leave the city, including the ardent Shakhtar supporter. Fourteen years on, the club is still searching for a stable home.

Shakhtar have since played in Kyiv, Lviv and Kharkiv within Ukraine, and in Poland, Slovenia and Germany for European games. This season, their home Champions League fixtures will be staged at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge, starting with AEK Athens on Wednesday. Genne, who now lives in the West Midlands, plans to attend all four.

'It gives you a sense of home and hope'

Genne says many Ukrainians who left at the start of the full-scale invasion expected to return within weeks. "Unfortunately, that didn't happen," he said. "When I meet people from my home area of Ukraine abroad, it gives you a sense of home and hope."

He praised the UK's reception: "In the UK, people are very supportive and I want to highlight that I'm extremely grateful to this country for hosting so many of our people at the most difficult time. When you're walking around in a Shakhtar shirt, people are clapping their hands and giving you high fives and there is no aggression whatsoever."

Dima Prasolov, who left Donetsk for Kyiv after the war started and now lives in Kent, will also be in the stands. He bought a four-game pass, which he described as the first time in about 15 years he could buy some sort of season ticket for the club. "Since the Russian invasion, for us Donbas people, watching our team regularly is almost impossible," he said.

Uncertainty and a message to the world

Chief executive Sergei Palkin said the club's work extends well beyond football. Shakhtar have had to move their under-12 team to a safer area of Kyiv following recent attacks, and their women's side had a match disrupted by a nearby drone strike.

"Every day when our team goes to the pitch, it's much more than football because behind it we have a lot of challenges every day... The most difficult and important challenge is uncertainty. You wake up in the morning and you don't know what's going to happen today or tomorrow."

Palkin added: "Part of our role when we play in London and other cities in Europe is to send these messages and remind people what's going on." He said that "at this moment 99% of news coming from Ukraine is all negative", and that seeing Ukraine represented in the Champions League sends one message: "that we are alive, Ukraine continues to fight, continues to work, continues to live and continues to compete."

Visa hurdles and scepticism in Ukraine

The decision to play in London was met with some scepticism in Ukraine. A UK visa costs £135 and must be applied for at least three months before entering, which many Ukrainians find prohibitive. One Shakhtar fan, speaking anonymously, said: "That sort of money for some Ukrainians is a monthly income. And no-one has time in Ukraine now to wait a few months for a visa." Instead, many supporters will watch in pubs across the country.

Uniting fans, including rivals

Palkin said Shakhtar's general director is hoping for an average of 30,000 supporters at Stamford Bridge across the four home games. Genne noted that the occasion could bring together even rival fans: "My two friends are supporters of Dynamo Kyiv, but in Europe we support each other... The hooligans don't fight any more with each other because they know they have one enemy and it's not the football enemy."

Shakhtar's away allocations have historically sold out quickly in England: their allocation for the Crystal Palace Europa Conference League semi-final sold out in an hour, as did their allocation against Arsenal in the 2024-25 Champions League. Prasolov said west London has a large, long-established Ukrainian diaspora, and expects lively Ukrainian songs and chants.

Fundraising and outreach

The club also plans to strengthen ties with Ukrainians in London. Palkin said Shakhtar will visit schools, bring Ukrainian children to training sessions and connect them with the team. Genne highlighted the wider community's work: "There are constantly events like concerts with Ukrainian artists and they fund-raise for med kits, for equipment, for everything."