UAF and national team leaders, along with players from national team, visit wounded soldiers at Dnipro hospital

09.09.2019 20:12

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

On the eve of the friendly match of the national team of Ukraine against Nigeria, UAF President Andriy Pavelko together with the head coach of the blue-yellows Andriy Shevchenko and coach Oleksandr Shovkovsky visited the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Clinical Hospital, where wounded participants of hostilities in Donbass are being treated.

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

First servicemen of the UAF, Vadym Kostyuchenko, national team players Andriy Pyatov, Yevhen Konoplyanka and Andriy Lunin also visited the servicemen at the main frontline hospital. Despite the very serious injuries that severely limit their movement and even communication, the wounded soldiers radiated a positive mood during the meeting. And this is natural, because they had the opportunity to get acquainted with several football legends of Ukraine, for whom they actively cheered for many years. However, the heroes of this meeting were the defenders of our state. Andriy Pavelko, Andriy Shevchenko and other guests immediately drew attention to this. 

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

It was noticeable that both the UAF leaders, the national team coaches and the players take this acquaintance very closely and sincerely care about the health of the wounded fighters. In a friendly conversation, the hospital's chief physician Serhiy Ryzhenko recalled how a little over a year ago the leaders of the national association visited the institution with UEFA Champions League cups. According to him, then Andriy Pavelko promised that the national team would definitely come to Dnipro and hold one of their matches here. Such a match will take place tomorrow - the main team of the country will present Dnipro and all the fans, including many participants in the hostilities, a friendly match with the titled opponent.

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

At the end of the warm communication with the military, the guests presented them with valuable souvenirs, in particular, balls with the autographs of the national team players, name T-shirts and more. Gifts, namely tickets to the match with the national team of Nigeria, were also given to medics, who are called guardian angels of the defenders of Ukraine.

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

"It is a great honor for us to invite the doctors who save our soldiers every day to a national team match. It is also a great honor for us and the whole team to meet our heroes, wish them a speedy recovery and invite them to the next matches of the team. Believe me, the players understand perfectly well what sacrifice our military is making for their sake, for the sake of preserving peace in Ukraine and the future of our state. We mourn for them, are proud of our heroes and above all appreciate their feat, "said UAF President Andriy Pavelko after visiting the hospital.

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov