A minivan with darkened windows pulls up at a gym in central Chernihiv and, once the doors have slid open, a stream of youths emerge into the daylight. Inside, Artem Rakitin sits everyone down on the rubber mat for one last pep talk. He has known most of the young men for several years, working with them here twice a week and in effect acting as a mentor. It is a kind of physical and mental training, he explains: self-discipline; resisting vices; preparing oneself, if the moment comes, to defend his country. “One of the main targets is for them not to become alcoholics, drug addicts or anything like that,” he says. “It’s to put their energy in the right places, and to support the right team.”
The team they follow is FC Chernihiv and, on Wednesday evening, the second-tier side will face Dynamo Kyiv in a Ukrainian cup final no one could have predicted. FC Chernihiv are battling relegation but, to delirious scenes, won their semi-final against Metalist 1925 Kharkiv on penalties despite being reduced to 10 men in the fifth minute. They are one more upset from an improbable Europa League spot; it is a remarkable moment for a city, tucked in Ukraine’s north towards the Russian and Belarusian borders, that has suffered devastating losses since February 2022.
