Ukrainian football club, Shakhtar Donetsk is using Arena Lviv to shelter refugees forced to flee from the Russian invasion.  

Shakhtar Donetsk are transforming the Arena Lviv ground into a makeshift camp where between 2000 and 3000 can find a safe place to stay.

Arena Lviv has a capacity of 34,900 and is usually home to both FC Lviv and Rukh Lviv. When the Donbass region was first involved in conflict with Russia, Shakhtar also played their home games there between 2014-16. 

The United Nations Refugee Agency report that there have been 2,473,427 refugees from Ukraine as a result of Vladimir Putin’s invasion. 

Shakhtar Donetsk communications director Yuri Sviridov said: ‘We are trying to be helpful here and organise a shelter in Lviv, which has this big stadium, which was used in Euro 2012.

‘We played games here previously in the Champions League. In partnership with the local authorities, we have arranged for this to be a shelter for 2-3000 people. If other clubs want to be involved or send things, it would be items such as blankets, mattresses, beds, pillows, they would be very useful.

‘Benfica are sending five trucks of everything; food, medicine and clothes. Our employees are volunteering at the stadium.

‘Legia Warsaw in Poland have also suggested to have their own stadium act as a hub where aid can be collected from other clubs sending it over, before it is then transported to Lviv.’