Thirteen Brazilian players from Soccer clubs of Ukraine, Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv, have made a public plea for help amid the ongoing Russian invasion. The families of the players have taken refuge in a hotel in the capital of the country Kyiv.
As Ukraine is under a state of emergency including closed borders and airspace, the people residing in the country are in a state of despair as it is close to impossible to leave without harm.
Shakhtar defender Marlon Santos, per ESPN, said that they are asking for help, due to the lack of conditions in the city, closed borders and airspace. “There’s no way we can get out. We ask a lot of support from the government of Brazil, which can help us”, said the defender. In the video posted by journalist Arthur Quezada on Twitter, players are surrounded by their wives and children, appealing to the government. According to ESPN, there are 35 Brazilian soccer players in the Ukrainian League.
According to Quezada, Moraes added an audio message saying,” borders are closed, banks are shut, there is no fuel, there will be a shortage of food, there is no money. We are gathered waiting for a plan to leave Ukraine.”
The Brazilian Embassy in Kyiv has promised to shelter close to 500 Brazilian citizens in Ukraine and has urged them to keep in close contact with the embassy highlighting the move to the capital to those in the east if the situation so suggests.
The Ukrainian Premier League stands suspended for the rest of the season and Paralympics are in talks as the state is currently under Martian Law, decided by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which prohibits mass events to take place. There is no date set for resuming the League in the foreseeable future.
