Ukraine Premier League terminates 2021-22 season due to Russian invasion

The Ukrainian Premier League has been suspended for the rest of the 2021-22 season due to Russia's invasion of the country.

A general meeting of the teams in the Ukrainian top-flight took place on Tuesday via video conference.

The season had initially been on hold since December because of the winter break, which was supposed to end in February but the resumption was delayed because of the ongoing conflict.

A statement from the Ukrainian Premier League read: "The football clubs of the Ukrainian Premier League supported the proposal to terminate the 2021/22 season of the VBET League, since the Championship cannot be completed due to the extension of martial law status in Ukraine.

"The standings as of February 24, 2022 will be the final standings of the 2021/22 season, while no winners to be awarded.

"The corresponding decision was submitted for approval by the Executive Committee of the Ukrainian Association of Football."

Shakhtar sat top of the league after 18 matches with 47 points.

Behind the Donetsk giants were Dynamo Kyiv on 45 points, while Dnipro sat third on 40.

As well as the decision to terminate the campaign, the UPL added: "A working group was created in order to study the questions on the current activities of the Ukrainian Premier League and the start of the next season.

"The UPL clubs supported the initiative of UAF President Andrii Pavelko to hold a face-to-face meeting to consider the issues to be solved by the working group."