Three young Ukrainians whose lives have been profoundly affected by russia’s war against Ukraine attended Shakhtar Donetsk’s UEFA Champions League match against Inter in Milan, thanks to the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation.
Who is Roman Oleksiv?
Roman Oleksiv is an 11-year-old accordionist who survived a russian missile strike on Vinnytsia on 14 July 2022. The strike killed his mother Halyna, who was also an accordionist. Roman suffered burns to 45% of his body, spent two weeks in a coma and underwent 37 operations in Dresden, Germany. Doctors took special care to rebuild the tendons in his hands. He returned to the accordion, and in 2025 he won the InterSvitiaz Accomusic international competition.
Our shareholder and Shakhtar Donetsk club President Rinat Akhmetov is gifting Roman a handcrafted accordion, an exclusive instrument created specifically for his needs, which is being made in Castelfidardo, Italy. The manufacturing process will take about a year.
"When the instrument is ready, I want to play a concert on it for children affected by the war, to support them and give them positive emotions," Roman said.
Shakhtar head coach Arda Turan greeted Roman at the pre-match press conference:
"The fact that you're here gives us strength."
What did Rostyslav and Nikita experience under occupation?
Rostyslav and Nikita both lived for around three years under russian occupation before escaping. Rostyslav, from a village near Zaporizhzhia, was sent to a russian-run school where pupils were shown propaganda and classes were watched by armed soldiers. He escaped with his family in 2025, with help from the Red Cross, as he neared the age at which he could be sent to fight against Ukraine. Nikita, from a village in Kherson region, escaped in June 2025 with his mother, brother and a cousin.
How does the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation support Ukrainian children?
The Foundation takes young people to matches for two reasons. According to Yuriy Svyrydov, member of the Supervisory Board of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, the first is to give them "the joy and positive emotions that football can offer". The second, he said, is "to allow them to tell their stories to the world, encouraging other young people to leave the territories occupied by russia and move to areas under Ukrainian control".
The Foundation provides medical, psychological and humanitarian aid to civilians affected by the war. It has distributed over 12.5 million survival kits since 2014 and collected more than 145,000 testimonies from civilians.
