‘We are still playing’: Women’s football defiant in the Ukraine

KYIV: It has been over a year since Yana Vinokurova, president of the women’s football club in Mariupol, Ukraine, has been able to play a game at her home field.

The 32-year-old has led the club for the past seven years. Her team was always self-reliant, cooking and selling dumplings to fund their training and activities.

Six years before the Russian invasion, Vinokurova bought a house in Mariupol, and later opened a cafe. Life was good.

On Feb. 22, 2022, she met with the Ukrainian head of the local football federation to discuss future plans and support for her team. Just two days later, the Kremlin launched what it called “a special military operation” in Ukraine. The subsequent war has resulted in the death or injury of 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers and 180,000 Russian troops, according to recent estimates. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights verified at least 8,300 civilian deaths as of mid-March.

Mariupol, a city which once had a population of around 425,000, was formerly a thriving center of industry and tourism. It was home to several resorts for tourists visiting the Sea of Azov, as well as vast iron and steel manufacturing facilities.

The siege of Mariupol lasted for almost three months, with Russian forces encircling the city by March. By the end of May, the last Ukrainian holdouts surrendered to Russian forces, and Mariupol has remained under Russian control since.

The city has endured relentless shelling. Moscow denies intentionally targeting civilians or critical infrastructure, but Ukrainian officials say Russian forces carried out deliberate, targeted strikes designed to cut water, power and food supplies to the city and its inhabitants.

Russian authorities claim that residents of