Fears are growing that Vladimir Putin is planning a blitz while Ukrainians watch the Euros opener today.
Hundreds of power generators have been put up across Odesa and Kharkiv to watch the national squad play their first Euros 2024 match amid Putin’s onslaught.
Ukrainian forces are on high alert. The game against Romania could draw large crowds to pubs and bars, attracting missile and drone strikes from Russia.
A commander in Odesa warned that the Russians will be “very interested” to find out when Ukrainians will be gathering to watch the football.
He told the Sun: “I cannot tell you if we are going to watch football. Imagine, let’s say, that the enemy knows that at a certain time we will gather to watch football.
“I am sure that they are very interested in finding out. What I can tell you is that we will be even more prepared to repel the Russian attack during Ukrainian fixtures at the Euros.”
A soldier with the call sign “Maverick” said there is no time or place for football in the trenches.
“Most people don’t understand what it is like to live in the trench. You always have to be alert,” he said.
“You can hear kamikaze FPV drones loaded with explosives from a distance of 25–30 metres, and you need to try to survive. It can attack you at any moment.
“There are also drones that throw grenades and mines from above – sometimes you can hear the sound of a falling grenade or mine, and you have like three seconds to move away.
“There is no time or place for football in the trenches.”
Another soldier said he will only watch the football when he returns home from war. “The war is not a game,” he said. “Your life is always on the line. Sometimes we don’t have opportunities to call our wives and mothers for weeks.
“This is a totally different life and lifestyle. I am going to watch football when I am back home.”