Banned: Shakhtar Donetsk has been playing outside of their hometown since 2014.
Image: IMAGO/Shutterstock
The war is raging, Russia is thinking ahead: In the occupied territories, athletes and clubs are supposed to be used to legitimize the land grab. The Kremlin speaks of integration, Ukrainians of propaganda.
Dn former Soviet head of government Nikita Khrushchev is credited with the quote: “Politicians are the same everywhere. They promise to build bridges even when there are no rivers.” The current leadership in the Kremlin ignores the sarcasm contained in this statement. Instead, she pretends to literally build bridges; whose pillars are, to stay with the image, not only far away from a river, but surrounded by scorched earth. Sport should serve as a bridge.
While the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine has been raging for a year now, Moscow is already thinking ahead. For President Vladimir Putin, the occupied Ukrainian territories, euphemistically referred to as “new territories” in the Russian media, belong to Russia. In an attempt to make the land grab appear legitimate, Russia also resorts to Ukrainian athletes and clubs.
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