Shakhtar Donetsk defender Oleksandr Drambayev, who is currently playing on loan for Belgian side Zulte Waregem and was on loan to Mariupol a year ago, spoke about the beginning of Russia's war against Ukraine.
Oleksandr Drambayev- 2022 is the most difficult year for you. Tell us, where did you find the day the war started?
- We were at a training camp in Antalya. We were supposed to be transported by plane to Istanbul, from where we had to go to Odesa. Our first match was planned with Chornomorets. But the coach came up and explained that there would be no game, we were not going anywhere - the shelling started. How did it happen? Why? We didn't understand anything. We went online and saw that the "subhuman" was saying that he was starting a "special operation".
We all started calling our relatives, I woke up my mom and girlfriend. In Zaporizhzhia, not all my friends even knew that the war had started. In Mariupol, there are many players from all over Ukraine - from Lviv, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Odesa. We exchanged news - what happened to our relatives, because explosions were going on all over the country.
- Did you manage to take your personal belongings from Mariupol? Did the house where you lived survive?
- We didn't think about any clothes or documents. My personal belongings in Mariupol were definitely left there, some documents, sneakers, boots. So it remained there. We will survive. I was more worried about the people there - my colleagues and neighbors. Thank God, the house where I lived survived. I hope that people survived too. It is still hard to believe that all this happened. I remember Mariupol in my heart and in my memory as it was - sunny, beautiful, seaside. I wish it could be peaceful again and we could rebuild everything!
- What are the latest photos your teammates have sent from the Mariupol base, stadium, and arena?
- Yes, even when we have left for other clubs, we are interested in how things are going. They sent photos with the consequences of the terrible shelling - "hail", "hurricanes", or whatever it was. Of course, there were some very heavy hits - there was a "hit" on the training field, the roof on the base was damaged because a rocket fell nearby.
Artur Valerko
