00:00The war in Ukraine has been raging for more than two years, costing thousands their lives
00:04and countless more their homes and sense of security.
00:07However, elsewhere life goes on, and these Ukrainian war veterans wanted to show their
00:11national spirit by supporting their team at the Euros in Dusseldorf, Germany.
00:16This is one of those veterans, Valentin Ostrovsky, who was wounded and lost a leg in combat.
00:22First of all I think we want to show the Ukrainian soul, we want to support our national team
00:29and also we want to scream and shout about the situation in Ukraine, especially about
00:35the prisoners who are still living as Russian prisoners.
00:42According to a United Nations human rights report, an overwhelming number of Ukrainian
00:46prisoners of war have suffered torture and other mistreatment at the hands of Russian
00:50military.
00:51Just last month there was a large prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia, where each
00:55nation sent back 75 soldiers.
00:58Neither country has said explicitly how many POWs they currently have interned.
01:02And while today is all about the match, these soccer fans are always thinking about life
01:07back home, with one of them saying, quote, in Ukraine, you know, right now, after the
01:11missile attacks, Ukrainian energy specialists are rebuilding the infrastructure so that
01:15everyone can watch the championship at home.
01:18At the same time, Ukrainian pubs are preparing power generators to broadcast the matches,
01:22adding that they are also thinking about the young hopeful soccer players back home, who
01:26are playing the game on destroyed sports grounds, decimated by Russia.
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