Superleague 2
Maxim Maximenko on Sportish: “My parents are in Ukraine, rockets are falling in all cities”
AEL footballer Maxim Maximenko spoke to Sportish about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, what is happening in the region, but also about his parents who are at war.
The whole planet is numbly watching the events of the war in Ukraine. The situation in Eastern Europe smelled like … gunpowder for a long time, but in the last 24 hours developments are catastrophic. Russia invaded its neighbor on Thursday, hours after Vladimir Putin recognized the self-proclaimed “Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.”
The images that followed were scary. Bombings in major Ukrainian cities, frightened citizens in shelters, dogfights and a tank army on the streets. Proof of how fragile everyday life can be.
Many Ukrainians live in Greece and of course there are also some Ukrainian football players playing in our country. the Sportish spoke to Maxim Maximenko, the 31-year-old AEL centre-back who has played for the Maroons since January 2021 while wearing AEL’s shirts in the past Shakhtar, Desna and Kolos Kovalivka.
Maximenko first referred to the difficult times his compatriots are going through, but expressed his belief that Ukraine will emerge victorious: “It is a difficult time for all citizens of Ukraine. Our army fights not only for the country but for the whole civilized world. If this invader doesn’t stop now, he may soon enter any European country. Thanks for all the words of support. I’m sure Ukraine will win“.
Missile attacks take place in all cities
Of course we asked him if he had his own people in the country and he referred to his parents who are in Ukraine: “My wife and daughter are together. My parents are in Ukraine, but everything is fine. I have daily communication with them which is important“.
When asked if his family was in the bombed area, he said attacks were now taking place in all cities: “Missile attacks take place in all cities. Russia is trying to penetrate Ukraine’s defenses in all directions“.
Times are difficult for Ukraine, so the brief conversation ended with wishes that everything would go as well as possible, thanking him for these wishes and for the interest. Let’s hope this nightmare ends soon.
I have been working as a sports journalist for about 6 years now. I currently work as an author at Sportish, which is a sports news website. I mainly cover sports news and I love writing about all aspects of the sport. I also have experience working as a broadcast journalist, so I have some great insights into how sport is reported and presented.