Brazilian fútbol players are asking for help to get out of Ukraine as quickly as possible. As many as 13 players from the South American country play on FC Shakhtar from the city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
With Russian forces now operating a full-force invasion of their neighbors to the west, the Ukrainian Premier League has suspended all games. “Due to the imposition of martial law in Ukraine, the Ukrainian championship has been suspended,” read a statement from the league.
The Brazilian players, including a 14th from FC Dynamo Kyiv, met together in a local hotel Thursday (February 24) to record a video with their families desperately asking for help.
“Hello people, here we are all gathered, Dinamo and Shakhtar players with our families,” said FC Shakhtar player Marlon Santos. “We are currently staying at the hotel due to the situation. We are requesting help through this video. There is lack of fuel, borders and air passages are closed. We are requesting mutual support from the Brazilian government. We hope you can all help us by sending this to as many people as possible.”
From the Twitter account of Santos’ former team, FC Barcelona, Santos is also quoted saying, “The world is in chaos right now. We are protected here at the hotel, but we want solutions. It is a terrible situation. There is fear. We have our families, our children and wives. I also have my mother-in-law. We want to be safe.”
FC Shakhtar also posted an image of the Ukrainian flag on their official Instagram page.
It is being reported that other South American players are also in Ukraine, including three from FC Metalist Kharkiv and two from FC Zorya Luhansk. They have also asked the Brazilian government for assistance.