The head coach of "Metalist 1925" Mladen Bartulović talked about how he met the beginning of the full-scale war.
Mladen Bartulović. Photo — FC «Metalist 1925»— You have practically spent half of your life in Ukraine. Even after February 24, 2022, you didn’t leave the country. Tell us about that decision.
— Look, I have a house in Dnipro. I live there with my family. When the war started, we had just returned from training camp and were in Kyiv. Everyone was heading to the west of Ukraine, and I was going the other way — to Dnipro and to my family.
At that time, we didn’t know what to do and how to be. The car was packed and we were ready to go. We were watching the news and decided not to leave. It seemed like Dnipro wasn’t being reached. We left only after 20 days in the summer to our parents in Croatia. As long as I have been in Ukraine, this was the first time I drove this much by car. It was a new experience for me.
I returned and stayed because my child goes to school in Dnipro. I have a job. I have made a name for myself in football in Ukraine. People know me here and, you can say, respect me. Well, I have just gotten used to living here, you know?
My parents said: "Come to us in Croatia." We decided that we have the opportunity to go at any moment, but we are staying and living in our house.
— I think every foreigner has a story about being stopped at a checkpoint and being surprised by their passport.
— Yes, I had such a story. On the second day of the invasion, I was driving to Dnipro, and I was stopped at a checkpoint 50 km from the city. I handed over my Croatian passport. They asked: "And where are you going?" I said: "Home to Dnipro." And they replied: "Well, home — that is there for you. Croatia is on the other side."
But the TCC didn’t stop me anywhere, they didn’t even approach me. They only checked documents at the checkpoints. Maybe it’s written on my forehead that I’m a foreigner.
Irina Kozyupa
