Viktor Serdeniuk calls it his “lucky ticket” and not a day goes by where he doesn’t think about it.
It was late February and the Ukrainian winter was biting hard. But the freezing temperatures were the last thing on anyone’s mind. Airstrikes rocked Odesa early on February 24, the first day of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Serdeniuk, now a midfielder with Shamrock Rovers, woke his wife Natalia the moment the shelling of their city began. Their four month old son, Alex, was still asleep, but at the forefront of their thoughts.
