Petro Khymera, the author of the football banner "Sudzha" at the Rangers-Dynamo match, admitted that he originally planned to create a poster featuring the Kursk fan club of Kyiv.
- My friends and I spent a week discussing how we could celebrate the work of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Their operation in the Kursk region inspired all Ukrainians and attracted the attention of the world. We considered the option with the Kursk Dynamo fan club, but Suja had its advantages as the inscription was shorter and we could include the Dynamo logo for better visualization. The logo design and organization was created by journalist Andrew Todos from the Zorya Londonska. I took the banner to the stadium as Andrew was working in the press area.
We were lucky that Dynamo scored two goals, which allowed us to enjoy the moment and celebrate with the banner. I hope that the Dynamo Suja fan club will grow and that in the coming weeks new fan clubs from neighboring cities will join us. The idea of the banner was to glorify the Armed Forces of Ukraine and, of course, to mock the enemy.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine constantly demonstrate amazing results in the defense of Ukraine. From the battle of Kyiv, the liberation of Kharkiv and Kherson, the destruction of the ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. They are protecting the Ukrainian sky, holding the contact line and now conducting successful operations in the enemy's territory. Now the world sees how steadfast they are. They just need the tools to finish the job! All Ukrainians and friends of Ukraine should continue to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine! Glory to the Armed Forces!
This is not the first time we have created unique banners. I remember in 2013, during the Revolution of Dignity, Shakhtar Donetsk played Manchester United in the Champions League. We took a banner protesting against Yanukovych to the game. At first, the stewards tried to take it away, but we convinced them that it had nothing to do with politics. We lied and said it was one of the players we didn't like.
The steward didn't know who it was, so he allowed us to hang this banner. And at the end of the revolution, after the massacre of the Heavenly Hundred heroes, we made a memorial banner with the inscription "Heroes never die" when Tottenham hosted Dnipro in the Europa League. For the last ten years, we have been taking our banner "We Are The Kozaks" to games and created our Ukrainian Bantams flag.
I attended about 100 games in various tournaments of Ukrainian teams. I was at the World Cup in Germany in 2006 and all the Euros that Ukraine played in. I witnessed Shakhtar win the UEFA Cup in Istanbul in 2009 and Dnipro reach the Europa League final in Warsaw in 2015.
Following Ukrainian football is a real pleasure and a connection with my homeland. I was born in the UK, near Bradford. All my grandparents are from Western Ukraine. During World War II, they were taken from their homes and forced to work in Germany. After the war, they came to the UK as displaced persons. They got jobs and created a new life for themselves. They founded the Ukrainian community, which included churches, community centers, schools, dance groups, choirs, etc.
My parents continued this hard work in the community, so we were lucky enough to be involved in this as well. There is still a Ukrainian Saturday school where our language, culture, and history of Ukraine are taught. We remain connected to our ancestral homeland across generations. And we hope that our children will also be united by their love for Ukraine and Ukrainian football in the future," Khymera said.