Football despite the war.
Dynamo kyiv, opponents of Rennes this Thursday evening (9 p.m.) in the Europa League, play all their European matches away due to the raging conflict in Ukraine, a burden involving incessant travel and the absence of its supporters .
After two meetings in Group B of the Europa League, the most successful Ukrainian club currently occupies the last place, without the slightest point.
If the defeat conceded at the last minute (2-1) against Istanbul club Fenerbahçe last month did not come as a surprise, the loss (1-0) a week later in Poland against a more modest Cypriot opponent , AEK Larnaca, surprised.
Only a few thousand spectators attended the match in Krakow, in a stadium with a capacity of 15,000, and Dynamo players had to travel for hours from Ukraine to reach the venue.
“It's physically difficult, because we are constantly on the move, by bus, then by plane.
In addition, we always have to go back to Ukraine to play the championship, "said AFP Oleksandr Karavayev, a 30-year-old Dynamo midfielder, met in Vynnyky, near Lviv, in western Ukraine, where the team trains, as far from the Eastern Front as possible.
Bus trips
Last weekend, after training sessions at their base camp, the team made a arduous journey by bus to the neighboring region of Zakarpattia for a league match victory against the club of Mynai (1 -0)... before making another long trip by bus to catch a flight to France to face Rennes in the Europa League on Thursday.
These grueling trips have become routine for Dynamo since Ukrainian airspace was closed following the Russian invasion on February 24.
" It's tiring.
We use all possible types of recovery, ”explains Karavayev.
“We travel a lot more now and it's a lot more exhausting.
We are not based in one place, but constantly on the move”, abounds winger Vladyslav Kabayev.
Dynamo players further complain about the lack of support they get when playing in Poland, although they admit the situation is very complex.
It is thus forbidden for men of military age to leave Ukraine, so that the Krakow stadium was mainly filled with women and children.
"We understand that the current situation is such that many people are not in the mood to play football," Karavayev added.
But we have to play if we have the chance.
Kabayev echoes him: "We don't feel like we are in a home stadium when we play in Poland."
“Nothing can break us”
In addition to the absence of their supporters, the Dynamo players regret the long separation with their loved ones.
“It's psychologically difficult.
Our families are not there.
We spend very little time together,” says Kabayev, 27.
The Premier League championship, suspended after the start of the war, resumed in August.
But Dynamo, who were considered the favourites, currently occupy a very modest ninth place, with six points from four games. However, the Ukrainian players believe they are on a mission.
"We are playing and showing that we are a Ukrainian club, that we are strong and nothing can break us," Karavayev said.
He, like his teammate Kabayev hope that the international break, devoted to the matches of the national team and which has just ended, will have been beneficial to his people.
“We have trained a lot and we are convinced that this two-week break will be beneficial for us,” warns Kavayev.