Keir Starmer, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, attended an exhibition football match in Kyiv during his final week in office. The match was between Shakhtar Stalevi and Kolos Bureviy. The players are injured veterans who returned to active life through sport after serious wounds and amputations sustained in russia's war against Ukraine. Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club has recently signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Heart of Azovstal on the development of veterans sport.
Who attended the match in Kyiv?
Keir Starmer, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, attended the match while on an official visit to Ukraine in his final week in office. He watched an exhibition game between two teams of injured veterans, Shakhtar Stalevi and Kolos Bureviy, in Kyiv. The squads are made up of veterans who came back to an active life through sport following severe wounds and amputations.
How does Heart of Azovstal support veteran sport?
The Heart of Azovstal provides systematic support to initiatives that help veterans recover through sport. It recently signed a memorandum of cooperation with Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club, part of SCM, which provides for joint work on the development of veteran sport and support for the Shakhtar Stalevi team.
"The Stalevi project is not simply about sport. It is about psychological support, peer-to-peer interaction and teamwork. Initiatives like this help veterans return to an active life and open up new opportunities after what they have been through," said Tetiana Maltseva, Director of the Heart of Azovstal.
During the match the players were also supported by post-traumatic growth coaches from Heart of Azovstal. They are defenders of Mariupol who went through their own recovery after captivity and who now help other veterans.
"We already have this connection. It does not matter whether we served in the same unit. When you return to civilian life or continue to serve, the veteran community remains the veteran community," said Serhii Yarovyi, post-traumatic growth coach.
"For us this is only the beginning. We will support the men in training and during matches, and travel with them to away games. The most important thing is to show that life does not stop after an injury, that a person has the strength to move forward," added Kyrylo Tiurniev, post-traumatic growth coach.
Why does this matter?
The game was further evidence that sport is an effective tool for physical recovery, psychological support and the post-traumatic growth of injured veterans. Heart of Azovstal, which is a part of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, will continue to support initiatives that help defenders return to active life, find new meaning and feel the strength of team support. This reflects the approach of our shareholder Rinat Akhmetov to supporting the people of Ukraine through the war and beyond it.
