My life has turned upside down
Sunday, March 6, 2022
|
At this tragic time for Ukraine, Shakhtar defender Viktor Korniienko has been actively involved in volunteering, equipping a gym for refugees, and patrolling the streets of his native village
- Viktor, the media have spread your Instagram picture, in which you deliver food and essentials. Tell us more about it.
- It was my initiative. When the disaster happened, I realised that I couldn’t just stay away. My house is near Poltava, so first of all I went around the checkpoints, asked how I could help people: children, refugees, territorial defence people. Now, every day, I buy the essentials for those who were forced to leave their homes and flee the shelling and bombing. In my home village I equipped a gym, it has everything necessary for safe living. Many acquaintances of mine have been calling me from Mariupol, Kharkiv, and I tell everyone to come to us: here we’ve got everything they need and, most importantly, it’s safe here.
- What do people need in the first place?
- They need food, warm clothing... And at checkpoints and military enlistment offices they request some gear: bullet-proof vests, army boots, other things necessary for area defence. By the way, I patrol the streets of my native village myself every day. According to the schedule, from six in the evening to six in the morning, we monitor the observance of the curfew so that no strangers come to our land.
- Just a week ago, Shakhtar returned from Turkey and were preparing for the league resumption, and then we faced this 180-degree turn: shelling, bombing, war. How did you perceive all this?
- I think that not only I, but many, many of our compatriots could not even imagine what kind of trouble would come to our land. It’s true that there was some alarming information, but most of us lived a peaceful life: raising children, making plans… But in the morning, when they fired on peaceful cities, literally in an hour my whole life turned upside down. I am proud to be a Ukrainian, because we have proved that we are a strong nation who quickly overcame the shock, teamed up and now stick together, helping each other. They won’t get such people down, and victory will be ours!
- Is it possible to keep in touch with your teammates?
- Of course it is. Even the foreign players who have left Ukraine are constantly calling me, they are interested in the things we do, they offer their help. I recently talked to Dodo who offered us to help with money. Before that, I exchanged messages with Marlon, he is also worried and tries to help the Ukrainians. Our coach Roberto De Zerbi, the club director Darijo Srna – everyone is watching the situation, being really empathetic and trying to be as helpful as possible. Not to mention my compatriots: Sergii Kryvtsov, Andriy Pyatov, other guys – all of us are presently united by one goal of helping those in need as much as we can.
- It was my initiative. When the disaster happened, I realised that I couldn’t just stay away. My house is near Poltava, so first of all I went around the checkpoints, asked how I could help people: children, refugees, territorial defence people. Now, every day, I buy the essentials for those who were forced to leave their homes and flee the shelling and bombing. In my home village I equipped a gym, it has everything necessary for safe living. Many acquaintances of mine have been calling me from Mariupol, Kharkiv, and I tell everyone to come to us: here we’ve got everything they need and, most importantly, it’s safe here.
- What do people need in the first place?
- They need food, warm clothing... And at checkpoints and military enlistment offices they request some gear: bullet-proof vests, army boots, other things necessary for area defence. By the way, I patrol the streets of my native village myself every day. According to the schedule, from six in the evening to six in the morning, we monitor the observance of the curfew so that no strangers come to our land.
- Just a week ago, Shakhtar returned from Turkey and were preparing for the league resumption, and then we faced this 180-degree turn: shelling, bombing, war. How did you perceive all this?
- I think that not only I, but many, many of our compatriots could not even imagine what kind of trouble would come to our land. It’s true that there was some alarming information, but most of us lived a peaceful life: raising children, making plans… But in the morning, when they fired on peaceful cities, literally in an hour my whole life turned upside down. I am proud to be a Ukrainian, because we have proved that we are a strong nation who quickly overcame the shock, teamed up and now stick together, helping each other. They won’t get such people down, and victory will be ours!
- Is it possible to keep in touch with your teammates?
- Of course it is. Even the foreign players who have left Ukraine are constantly calling me, they are interested in the things we do, they offer their help. I recently talked to Dodo who offered us to help with money. Before that, I exchanged messages with Marlon, he is also worried and tries to help the Ukrainians. Our coach Roberto De Zerbi, the club director Darijo Srna – everyone is watching the situation, being really empathetic and trying to be as helpful as possible. Not to mention my compatriots: Sergii Kryvtsov, Andriy Pyatov, other guys – all of us are presently united by one goal of helping those in need as much as we can.
