Ukraine boss Oleksandr Petrakov has revealed he's abandoned plans to prepare for their World Cup showdown against Scotland in a peaceful region of their country in case Russia deliberately bombs them.
Scotland will face the war-torn region in June with UEFA and FIFA yet to announce the date of the semi-final, play-off, with the winners due to face Wales in Cardiff.
Ukraine have 16 players domestically-based with the vast majority playing for Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Ukrainian government allowed them special visas to leave the country and train, with Shakhtar playing their first charity match in Greece at the weekend against Olympiacos.
They have been offered an all-expenses-paid base in Poland or they could go to a Turkish training camp to prepare for the Hampden encounter.
But Ukraine wanted to prepare for the game in the western city of Uzhhorod, near the border with Hungary and Slovakia, which has been untouched by the war, because it would be morale-boosting for the nation if they trained in their own country.
However, Petrakov has revealed they have been forced to shelve the idea. He said: "Unfortunately, the plan to prepare for the match against Scotland in the western region of the country has been abandoned.
"It is far too dangerous. We run the risk of Russia finding out our location and they could launch a planned, deliberate missile strike directly at us.
"We are still preparing for the June matches and we are hopeful we will be able to play a series of friendly games before then perhaps against clubs."
