Thousands of families in Ukraine have experienced this since the beginning of the war and live with such thoughts every day. Missing persons, prisoners of war - this is a topic that cannot be silenced, because it is ours, common.

A military uniform lay on the stands of the Yubileiny stadium. Next to it were photographs of those still being sought. That day in Bucha, football was not just about the score, although the teams scored 18 goals. It was about waiting — about families who live every day between hope, silence, and faith in return.

The football part of the match was spectacular: the Ukrainian national team among veterans defeated the Kyiv region national team with a score of 10:8, but the main result of the day was not on the scoreboard.

The Ukrainian national team was particularly dangerous with the pair of Seleznyov and Lysenko, who scored four and three goals respectively. Stargorodsky, Nazarenko and Medvedev also scored for the veterans.

The Kyiv Region National Team was formed by employees of the regional and district administrations, community representatives, military personnel, and volunteers. It is worth noting the hat-trick of Andriy Mykhalchuk and the well-aimed shot of Mykola Kalashnyk.

The veteran team was also stellar. Under the leadership of Andriy Biba, Eduard Tsykhmeystruk, Serhiy Nagornyak, Yuriy Maksimov, Serhiy Pohoriliy, Yevhen Seleznyov, Serhiy Nazarenko, Vitaliy Mandziuk, Volodymyr Lysenko, Artem Stargorodsky, Volodymyr Bondarenko, Gennady Medvedev, Vyacheslav Svidersky, Vitaliy Samoilov, and Oleksandr Venglinsky took to the field.

The founder of the veterans' team, Major Oleg Sobutsky, was absent due to his service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On his behalf, as well as on behalf of the entire football community, Eduard Tsykhmeystruk congratulated everyone before the match: "The veterans' team has been supporting the military, this has been the main goal of all our matches for more than ten years, since our founding. A few days ago, we played in Khmelnytskyi with the SSO team on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Special Operations Forces. Today, we are together with families whose loved ones are in captivity or have gone missing. This is also our pain. We hope for the best and will always support the military and their families."

One of the highlights of the event, the solidarity chain, took place during halftime. Spectators, players from both teams, and honored guests lined up around the field, lighting blue and yellow flares. It was a sign that the families of the missing and prisoners were not left alone.

The organizers of the match were the Kyiv OVA, Buchanan City Council, the NGO "Voices of Silence", the Association of Veterans of the Armed Forces of the Ukrainian SSR, the Sobutsky Family Charitable Foundation, LLC "Agribusiness", the Ukrainian Football Association, and other institutions and public associations.