Dynamo Kyiv midfielder Justin Lonwijk, who recently moved on loan to Dutch side Fortuna, recalled his decision in 2022 to continue his career in Ukraine despite the war.
"It was a difficult decision. I consulted with a lot of people. I was assured that Dynamo would play their European Cup matches in Poland and play in the Ukrainian championship in the west of Ukraine, in Lviv.
But in the end, the reality of the war in Ukraine turned out to be shocking for me. The air raid siren at some stage sounded constantly and all I did was go into hiding, into an underground car park. And if it was just something new for me, then when Kiev was subjected to a powerful missile attack a couple of hours before our match, I was really scared. The explosions felt like they were right next to me. And then I immediately decided to return to the Netherlands (Lonwijk left Ukraine shortly before the end of last season and shortly afterwards went on loan to Belgian Anderlecht - ed. note).
As for the prospects in "Fortuna", my task is to leave a trace in the game of my new team for these six months (Lonwijk's lease is till the end of the season - ed.) in the form of goals and assists. I really want to prove myself here," said Lonewijk in a comment to ESPN.