Denys Oliynyk plays in Finland when his home country Ukraine is at war

Ukrainian striker Denys Oliynyk was preparing for his fifth season at the Seinäjoki Football Club at the end of February, when news of Russia’s brutal attack reached the plains.

The information was hard to believe at first.

– I had heard that the Russians were packing troops behind our border, so I knew that an attack was possible. I still didn’t believe it, so it came as a complete surprise, a shock, the artist tells Iltalehte.

The first weeks and months of the attack shocked the 35-year-old Oliynyk in particular. The player’s family was in Ukraine.

– I was constantly looking for information, because I was constantly worried about my relatives. One of my kids was really close to the danger zone. Only about eight kilometers away, there was bombing and shooting all the time. I was really worried about him, but luckily he was able to leave with my ex-wife and they now live in France.

Oliynyk’s two other children and his parents lived in Chernivtsi, currently one of the safest places in Ukraine, when the war broke out.

– My children got from there with my friend’s ride to Budapest, where I drove to meet them. It was an emotional encounter. Since then, my mother has also come here to Seinäjoki, Oliynik is happy.

Friends are at war

Chernivtsi, located at the foot of the Carpathians, in Romania’s armpit, is Oliynyk’s childhood town, as the family moved there from Zaporizhia when Denis was only a few months old. While the city of birth is the target of continuous hostilities, Chernivtsi has remained untouched.

The war has also raged with varying intensity during the stages of Oliynyk’s football career: in Kyiv, where he moved at the age of 13 to join Dynamo’s academy, and during his adult career stops in Kharkiv and Dnipro.

Oliynyk says that many of his friends have already assisted in war efforts or are training for war as volunteers.

Towards victory

The attack took Oliynyk’s night’s sleep and crippled his ability to function so much that he was unable to train at all.

– Over time, I realized that I just have to focus on my work here, because I can’t help my compatriots from here. I have received a lot of support from my teammates and the club. Especially the owner has helped me in every possible way. It has also been great to receive encouraging comments from the opposing players and supporters.

The turmoil of the mind and concern about the events at home have not been seen much in Oliynyk’s performances on the field. In ten matches, two complete hits have been scored, one fifth of the team’s early season goals. The style of play has been the usual sloppy one.

– I always do my best for the club and my teammates, and I never give up.

The Ukrainian believes that the same template will also work in the most important battle of the moment.

– We fight for our freedom and independence, and we will not give them to anyone. I am proud of my country and its people, since our brave president. I believe we have already won the war. I still can’t say when the war will end, Oliynyk thinks.

Get the ball rolling

The war in Ukraine has touched the European football community in the sense that the country’s football league has not been able to play when the first shots of the war rang out.

The Ukrainian Premier League is not an insignificant league, for example the website Kickalgor ranks it as the 13th best football league in the world. For example, the American MLS, the Scottish Premier League and all the Nordic leagues are left behind.

For the sake of comparison, it should be mentioned that Veikkausliiga is not found in the list among the top sixty.

According to Denys Oliynyk, the Ukrainian Premier League is to be launched during the summer.

– The Ukrainian teams have just started their training season, each of the main league teams is already training. Many foreign reinforcements have moved away and I think many more will leave, but all of the Ukrainians have stayed with their clubs. In any case, the league will start in a month, but it is not yet known in which region matches can be played, says Oliynyk.

I guess the match venues still cause a headache.

– Regarding the venues, there are still a few options, among which the decision will be made. I believe that the games will be played in the safe city of Uzhorod near Hungary. If they are not allowed to play there, I think they will move abroad, most probably to Poland.

At the national team level, Ukraine fell agonizingly short of a place in the World Cup qualifiers, which was also painful for the SJK player who represented the A national team.

– I think we were clearly better against Wales, but luck was not on our side. The three-day recovery period before the match was also not enough for us. Especially not in this situation, when many players haven’t played for a long time. The end result was an emotional moment for me as well.

SJK’s season continues next Thursday with an away match against Flora from Estonia in the first qualifying round of the Conference League.