Ukrainian Premier League match halted four times by air raid sirens and takes over four hours to complete

By Ben Morse and Matt Foster, CNN

Updated 1209 GMT (2009 HKT) August 25, 2022

Rukh Lviv players wait in a bunker while an air raid siren sounds.

(CNN)A Ukrainian Premier League (UPL) football match in Lviv was halted four times on Wednesday as a result of multiple air raid sirens at Skif Stadium in Lviv, according to the UPL.

Air raid sirens are one of the many safety measures implemented by the league in an effort to keep players and staff safe against Russia's ongoing invasion of the country. Football returned to Ukraine on Tuesday for the first time since Russia's invasion in February. Wednesday's match, between Rukh Lviv and Metalist Kharkiv which Metalist eventually won 2-1, was the only league fixture impacted by the sirens on the day.In an email to CNN, the UPL said: «Safe and security measures is the main priority for us, so both teams had to go to the shelter every time, according to the available safety protocols. The overall time of the match was indeed 4 and half hour(s).»Read MoreSocial media accounts posted videos showing the events at the stadium, including what reportedly happened when the first siren went off, and of the players returning to the pitch after one of the stoppages.Shakhtar Donetsk and Metalist 1925 Kharkiv's goalless draw in Kyiv on Tuesday marked the restart of the UPL, although football in Ukraine at the moment looks a lot different than before. The league has implemented multiple safety measures to attempt to assure the safety of the players and the staff as they play in the middle of Russia's continued assault. As well as air raid sirens, bomb shelters have been erected near stadiums and no fans are permitted to enter. According to Andriy Pavelko, head of the Ukrainian Association of