Shakhtar evacuate Brazilian players

Shakhtar Donetsk have evacuated their Brazilian players to Romania following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Premier League club worked with Uefa to move 12 players away from the conflict, which continues to escalate across the country.

Shakhtar said Dynamo Kyiv and SK Dnipro-1 have also managed to move foreign players from Ukraine.

“We want to thank for the assistance everyone who took part in this process,” Shakhtar said in a statement.

“The evacuation of the players was made possible thanks to the personal assistance of Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin, the Ukrainian Football Association President Andrii Pavelko and the Moldovan Football Federation President Leonid Oleinichenko.”

Shakhtar lead the Ukraine Premier League but have not played a fixture since 11 December as a result of a winter break and the subsequent suspension of football because of the Russian invasion.

On Monday, Fifa and Uefa suspended Russia’s national and club teams from all competitions until further notice.

Russia, supported by Belarus, launched an invasion of Ukraine on Thursday and fighting across the country is set to enter a sixth day.

Source: BBC