Under threat of Russian attacks in a war that stopped all soccer in Ukraine in February, a new league season starts Tuesday in Kyiv with the goal of restoring some sense of normal life. The elegant Olympic Stadium has staged the biggest European soccer games in the past decade though none as poignant as the opening-day meeting of Shakhtar Donetsk and Metalist 1925 from Kharkiv — teams from eastern cities that are fighting for their very existence. No fans will be allowed in the 65,000-capacity downtown stadium for the 1 p.m. local time kickoff and the players must be rushed to bomb shelters if air-raid sirens sound.
Ukraine soccer league defies Russian war to begin season