At the beginning of the war, Ilya Shevtsov was under contract with Desna Chernihiv and was with his team in a training camp in Turkey.Image: Screenshot/Instagram / Screenshot/Instagram
war in Ukraine
The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine has been raging for almost a year. Ilya Shevtsov is a Ukrainian soccer professional who wasn’t in his homeland at the time, played in the USA in between and therefore didn’t see his parents for a long time.
He’s beaming all over his face and his eyes are sparkling when the video call begins. In the previous interviews, Ilya Shevtsov did not look as happy as he does now, in early February. The reason is actually simple, but particularly in times of war: He is currently visiting his mother, lets her cook for him and enjoys the time.
For a long time this was unimaginable for Shevtsov. The war made it impossible to see his mother again. She lived in Cherson and witnessed the city being occupied by the Russian army. Shevtsov himself was in a training camp in Turkey with his club at the time, Desna Chernihiv, at the time the war broke out.
He did not return to Ukraine, but joined Charlotte Independence in the USA for almost half a year.
It was also during this time that the mother decided to leave her hometown of Cherson and flee to Breslau. That must have been in late summer, that is, August or September, says Shevtsov. “Escape from Kherson was extremely dangerous for a long time,” he explains. The city, where many family members still live, was occupied by the Russian army from the beginning of the war.
During this time, some acquaintances would have been extremely afraid. “On the way to the supermarket, they met a lot of Russian soldiers. They were afraid of them because soldiers could act arbitrarily,” Shevtsov told Watson. Nevertheless, an escape was difficult due to the Russian soldiers in the city and the fighting in the surrounding area.
In November, the Ukrainian army liberated Kherson. However, Shevtsov’s mother had already been able to flee to Poland: “When the Russian army withdrew a little and opportunities arose, they decided to leave Kherson.” Before that, she struggled for so long. She didn’t want to give up her home.
“She didn’t want to leave her memories behind. It was very hard to convince her to flee,” explains Shevtsov. During his mother’s four to five day escape, he played and trained thousands of miles away in the United States. “I couldn’t sleep during that time. I kept writing to her and asking what was happening. She had to pass many checkpoints and soldiers. It’s tough in war because you never know how they feel.”
Looking back, Shevtsov describes the time when he didn’t know how his mother was doing as “horror”. “After she was safe, I was relieved. I could sleep peacefully again, go out with friends. Life felt normal again,” reveals the 22-year-old.
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His mother likes it in Breslau. She settled in quickly. “After a week she called me and told me about her new apartment and possible work. That made me very happy.”
He has been in Wroclaw himself since November and enjoys the time together. His contract in Charlotte expired at the end of last year – he is now a contract-free professional. Now he has time for his mother. However, Shevtsov emphasizes that he wants to find a club again as soon as possible: “I’m currently talking to my agent a lot. We’re discussing which league and which country I’m going to.”
Return to Ukraine currently unimaginable
He himself prefers a longer contract. Most recently, there were contracts over six months. But he would like to be at a club longer to show what he’s made of. He rules out a move back to Ukraine for the time being. He explains that he has had offers from home, “but I don’t really want that at the moment”. The concerns about the war are too great. He also wants to take the chance and get to know other countries through football.
“Even before the war I wanted to leave Ukraine to develop my football skills in Europe,” explains Shevtsov.
“Only physically you have to warm up again afterwards. Not to mention the psyche.”
Ilya Shevtsov cannot imagine breaks in the game in the bunker
One reason for not wanting to join a Ukrainian club is certainly the bad conditions there. Despite acts of war, the Premjer-Liha, the highest class in Ukrainian football, plays – albeit under special conditions. No spectators are allowed in the stadium, and play is suspended when the air raid sirens sound. Then both teams take shelter in a bunker, only after the shelling does the game continue.
Shevtsov sees many problems in this: “Only physically you have to warm up again afterwards. Not to mention the psyche.” Game breaks like this happen all the time. At the start of the season in August, a game between Rukh Lviv and Metalist Kharkiv lasted around four and a half hours. After a total of three interruptions and bunker stays of almost 150 minutes, the game ended 2-1 for Kharkiv.
Because Shevtsov played for several teams in Ukraine, he still has contact with some professionals. From conversations with them, he learned that they were now used to the interruptions in the bunker.
But there are also severe restrictions when planning everyday league work. Many clubs have changed venues due to the war, moving from eastern Ukraine to Kyiv or the west. Kharkiv, Poltava and Dnipro three share the Avanhard Stadium in Uzhhorod, a border town with Slovakia.
In addition to changing the stadiums, there is also the problem of infrastructure. Due to the war there are no scheduled flights. A real problem given the long distances in the Ukraine. Shevtsov says of his former teammates: “The teams can’t fly, so they have to travel the routes by bus. But because there is a curfew from 10 p.m., they can’t travel overnight. That’s why two days are often needed to get there .”
Criticism of international transfers of Ukrainians
The expired transfer window has shown in Ukraine that even player changes during the war develop a new meaning. Mykhaylo Mudryk left series champion Shakhtar Donetsk for Chelsea in England. Ilya Zabarnyi also joined the island from Dynamo Kyiv and now plays for Bournemouth. Viktor Tsygankov left Kyiv and signed for Girona in Spain. So far so good. If it weren’t for a special feature in war.
Actually, men are not allowed to leave Ukraine. Shevtsov tells: “Many people have questioned why footballers are allowed to leave the country but normal people are not.” Shevtsov has no explanation. However, he believes that “many people are mentally exhausted from the war and that is where such thoughts come from”.
On the other hand, many sports fans would be happy “that more and more Ukrainian players are playing in top leagues”. Shevtsov wants to be one of them and can now pursue that goal knowing his mother is safe.
In football it is customary to talk the opponent into action. This has several advantages: no one can accuse you of disrespect, fan expectations are curbed and if you lose, you have an excuse ready.
