Football did not matter when the first Russian bombs exploded in the early hours of 24 February in the country. The game can help heal a nation that has been ravaged by war.
The most celebrated club in the country came up with a plan. They asked the president to allow them to tour Europe and send the message of peace.
They want to use football to tell a story about grief and hope, gratitude for the open doors they found abroad, and their fury against the invaders.
Mircea Lucescu cannot afford to smile as he prepares for training in Bucharest, Romania, where the players are camped after their journey from Ukraine. Not yet. He is the oldest manager in top-level European football at 76 years old.
The four foreigners who found short-term deals elsewhere after the start of the war are not the only ones with Lucescu. Over the past 50 days, the coach and his assistants have gone from arranging buses for people fleeing war to relocating families and helping pregnant wives find doctors.
They are training with their feet, but their hearts are in Ukraine.
I watch a training session for more than an hour. Lucescu watches closely from the sidelines, with the smallest of details under scrutiny. The players only loosen up when they circle the pitch to warm up. Most football practice has no shouting, no casual jokes, and almost no thinking about it.
The coaching staff broke the silence with short commands. This is a normal way of communicating and reminds everyone of what it was like before the war started.
The most important thing for these boys right now is emotional and mental stability. We spend a lot of time together and it's important to them. It is the only time of the day when they can focus on other things than the war at home.
Since the end of World War Two, there have been no similar occurrences. The situation is not normal. We don't know when the war will end or how things will change. We have to keep our hopes alive and make a statement with our mission in Europe.
After the first confrontations in the Donbas region, Lucescu was forced to move with the entire team. He didn't think Russia would invade.
He left a lot of things in the city. When we left the city, I never imagined I would return.
When the first shelling took place in February, Lucescu thought a storm had hit. I woke up in the morning to find out about the bombings. I was shocked and never expected it.
The coach refused to leave Kyiv in the first days of the war, despite messages from foreign embassies.
He reached the border after 17 hours. The owner of the club, Ihor Surkis, as well as the players and their families were kept in the loop by the club consultant, Arcadie Zaporojanu. He arranged for two buses to take the players out of the war zone and get them to safety in neighboring Romania.
There were a lot of women and children and two men. Some of the families had animals with them on the bus, there was a parrot with them. The scenes left a mark on me.
One of the two men on the plane was an old man and the other was the captain of the team and a father of three.
At the border with Romania we needed new buses and new drivers, as those we had were not allowed to leave the country, says Zaporojanu. Imagine moving all the kids and their pets with their luggage to a new car after a long wait and a difficult journey.
We put them in hotels or with local families when they arrived in Romania. It is not easy to have so many people somewhere for a long time.
I don't think this is real. Sometimes I want to wake up and slap myself. For two months now, I travel hundreds of kilometres between the border points to see all those in need have their problems solved.
Zelensky had to sign the letter that would allow the players to leave the country and start their tournament. Shakhtar obtained the right to train and play abroad, thanks to the actions of Dynamo.
The two clubs want to get Ukrainian players ready for the World Cup play-off match against Scotland on June 7. Ukraine will travel to Wales for the decider if they win at Hampden Park.
The players of the club moved to a forest 100 km away from the club's training base in the middle of the night a week ago. It took them almost 48 hours to get to Bucharest.
Zaporojanu says they looked into the eyes of the players when they left. Their expressions stayed with us. We are together again. We should all be together in peace.
The stories of the players were brought with them to Bucharest, as well as the anguish for what their nation is going through. Zaporojanu says that they have families in Mariupol or around cities that are under attack. Volodymyr Bezsonov, one of the club's scouts, is involved in defending Ukraine.
On Tuesday, the 16-time Ukrainian champion takes on Legia in Warsaw in the first game of their tour of Europe.
Poland was more involved in the crisis than was thought.
After playing Galatasaray in Istanbul, the team will return to Bucharest to face the local side. They will play Dinamo Zagreb in April.
The show of support from Manchester City and their coach,Pep Guardiola, impressed Lucescu and he hopes to meet them in May. Carlo Ancelotti, the manager of Real Madrid, and the president of Paris St-Germain, as well as Leonardo, the sporting director of Paris St-Germain, have shown their support for the struggle.
Lucescu said that they were open to invitations from more clubs in England, as it was one of the countries that condemned the war.
This is not about football, it's just our vehicle. An invitation to play is a sign for those who are in Ukraine, for those who are fighting or suffering, and for those who need to hide because of the shelling. It is more than just a game. If you attend, you show that you care.
My dream was to play in countries that supported the Ukrainian people during these times. We have to not forget. We must not forget about Ukraine. These games honor the victims and give hope and comfort to the people of Ukraine.
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