Ukraine football club manager hopes for cease-fire soon as Russia intervenes

By Yasin Tuncer

ANTALYA, Turkiye (AA) - Dynamo Kyiv manager Mircea Lucescu said he hopes there is a cease-fire soon as the Russian military intervened in Ukraine on Thursday.

Talking to Anadolu Agency, Lucescu said he will avoid political statements, but stressed he does not want innocent people, civilians and children, to die. "The attacks must stop and there must be a cease-fire," he said.

The 76-year-old Romanian manager said foreign players are scared and worried about the current events, but asserted: "I'm in charge of Dynamo Kyiv, I'm not going anywhere."

Ukraine has suspended its top-tier football league after the declaration of martial law due to Russia's actions.

Following a two-month winter break, the second half of the campaign was supposed to kick off on Friday with the matchday 19 game between FK Minaj and Zorya Lugansk.

A former Galatasaray and Besiktas manager, Lucescu clinched the 2021 Ukrainian Premier League title with Dynamo Kyiv.

Shakhtar Donetsk hired Lucescu in May 2004, kicking off a long-term project.

He led the senior team until May 2016 to win local titles and the 2009 UEFA Cup.

Under the helm of Lucescu, Shakhtar Donetsk dominated the Premier League with eight titles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special operation in Ukraine early Thursday, just days after recognizing two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine.

He said the action followed a request for help from authorities of Donetsk and Luhansk, claiming that Moscow had no plan to occupy the neighboring territory, but wanted to “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine.