*First in a series of four
By Tutku Senen & Mutlu Demirtastan
ANKARA
The conflict between Ukrainian security forces and pro-Russia separatists in the eastern regions of Lugansk and Donetsk has spilled over to the country's sports, particularly football and basketball.
Security concerns over the conflict in Ukraine appears to have hampered the development of the country's sports, which has witnessed significant progress over the last five years.
Ukraine was going to host the European Basketball Championship in 2015, but it was cancelled due to the ongoing war in the country. The International Basketball Federation's board of management had decided that the championship would be held in another country due to instability and security problems in the country. It is expected that the country or countries that will host the EuroBasket 2015 would be announced on Monday. Turkey is among the candidates to host the championship.
In football, Ukrainian Premier League's defending champions Shakhtar Donetsk saw its stadium, the Donbass Arena, hit by two blasts amid clashes between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian separatists on August 23. There occurred multiple damages on the several parts of the 51,000-capacity stadium.
Football teams from the cities of Donetsk and Lugansk, which has frequently become scenes of fierce fighting for five months, had to play their matches in different cities in western Ukraine. Shakhtar Donetsk, Metalurh Donetsk, Olimpik Donetsk, Zorya Lugansk and Illichivets Mariupol play their matches in western cities including Lviv, Kiev and Zaporizhia. The situtation is expected to negatively affect the performance of the teams.
Moreover, three football teams from Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in March, are competing in Russian leagues in the 2014-15 season. Ukrainian Football Federation has raised an objection to the international football governing body FIFA and its European counterpart UEFA after SKChF Sevastopol, Zhemchuzhina Yalta and Tavriya Simferopol joined Russia's second-tier football league. UEFA gas announced that they do not recognize Russia's decision on the three teams.
Meanwhile, Paraguay Football Federation cancelled a friendly match scheduled to be played in Kiev on September 3 over concerns about the country's stability and security.
Unrest in eastern Ukraine has torn the region apart since April, when Kiev launched military operations in the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk to restore government control after pro-Russian separatists declared independence in the region.
The operations had been relatively successful in pushing the separatists back. However, amid recent accounts of the presence of Russian troops on Ukrainian soil, government forces have begun to lose ground.
At least 500 people have been killed since pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine declared their intention to break away from Kiev in March.
