Veres midfielder and volunteer Oleksandr Kucherenko spoke about the players who help the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
"It's a pity that few players do this and don't go to the frontline to see how people and the military live. We need to unite even more and help even more to make it easier for our guys. If we are not at war, we must help. It's not even out of the question, because we could be in their place.
When I played for Ingulets, I was 400 km away from the frontline. I had a minibus, and the military gave me their jeeps. After the matches, on my two days off, I didn't rest, drink coffee or go for a walk, but searched for, picked up and delivered aid. It was a very hard job. At Ingulets, no one helped me. The management and the guys asked me what was going on and how it was going - they were interested in hearing everything first-hand. But a few guys joined the meetings 1-2 times. They donated 500-1000 hryvnias at a time and that was it. There are opportunities, but no one wants to give even 100 hryvnias. But it's on their conscience.
At Veres, the management helps various departments. I bought a car myself, and the repair cost $600-700, and the guys helped me cover 90% of the cost. I'm grateful to them for being so supportive. Unfortunately, not everyone joins in. I don't know why - they are tired or think the war is far away.
I know that Taras Mykhailyk helps a lot. He doesn't advertise everything, but he does a lot. Together we organised children's tournaments in frontline towns, brought gifts and plan to continue working in this direction.
Roman Zozulya is a great guy. I have a lot of respect for him. I once corresponded with him about an issue. He does much more than I do. And even more than all of us put together in the world of football. I know what a patriot he is and how much his heart hurts for everything that is happening in Ukraine.
Bohdan Kohut and Vitaliy Dakhnovskiy help a lot. Maybe someone else is helping, but there are a lot of us (footballers), and a maximum of 20%-25% out of 100% are imbued with this," Kucherenko said.
