Former Shakhtar goalkeeper Yevhen Hrytsenko spoke about his Donetsk relatives and his last visit to the occupied city.
Євген Гриценко- Yevhen, you are from Donetsk. How did you react to the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014? Did you leave Donetsk immediately? Did any of your relatives or friends stay there?
- All my relatives and friends left as far as they could. Most of them went to the government-controlled territory of Ukraine. My grandfather and grandmother died in Donetsk because of their age, it had nothing to do with the war. It's very hard when you can't say goodbye to your family because of circumstances beyond your control. You are just a hostage to this situation, and it is very painful.
- On your Instagram page, I saw several photos from the temporarily occupied Donetsk that you posted in 2017 and 2018. I'm curious to know what your journey home was like, what did you realise after this trip?
- I visited my parents, who lived there until 2020. The last time I went was in 2019 during my holidays. I watched my favourite city die. I always had difficulty crossing the "borders" that were established after 2014. These pigs often tried to do something... excuse me, tried to do something, but it didn't work out because they had no rights to do so. I explained to them that I was going home, that I was from Donetsk, and you, what are you doing here, why are you standing here? It was hard to tolerate them, but I controlled myself.
- What do you remember most from your years in Ukrainian Donetsk?
- A lot of things. In football terms, I remember being a bol-boy. Back then, I went through all these stages: from serving balls, then, whoever was older, went to the centre of the pitch and shook this Champions League flag when the tournament anthem was played. Of course, I remember most of all when AC Milan came to us. You know, at that time it was the only team that all Ukrainians supported because of Andriy Shevchenko. I took Dida to the football pitch, unfortunately, not Shevchenko. You know, I still jokingly blame my parents for not taking a photo back then, because I didn't get into the lenses.
- The last time you were in Donetsk, what was the condition of the Donbass Arena like?
- In 2019, when I visited my parents for the last time, I was very sad about the way the city looked. Many people who could leave had left. Only those who couldn't or didn't want to, or were just happy that we were dying here as a city, remained. The stadium was no longer illuminated, it was a little beaten up, and I heard that the foundation had come down. The incredible park near the stadium was overgrown. Looking at all this, it seems as if humanity has left Donetsk.
- On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion after eight years of occupation of Crimea and the war in the east of the country. I saw a photo of you on Instagram with camouflage nets on the background, and you were actively involved in volunteering. Was it Shakhtar's initiative or your own?
- It was solely my initiative. "Shakhtar had nothing to do with it, they were taking care of Brazilians who were stuck in Kyiv. My ex-wife and I took our parents to Lviv. There I decided to help in any way I could. I didn't have a job at the time and had free time, so I quickly found a volunteer centre in Lviv. I made medical kits and tourniquets for them. Everything they asked for. It was just a normal volunteer activity: I did what all Ukrainians did at the beginning of a full-scale war. And then I went to play abroad and now I am actively helping the Armed Forces financially.
Oleksandr Volochan
