On behalf of the Ukrainian Football Association and the entire football community in Ukraine, we address you regarding a recent incident that occurred during the 49th Ordinary UEFA Congress in Belgrade, specifically concerning the personal composition of the list of deceased members of the European football family mentioned in the traditional annual memorial video.

We draw your attention to the fact that Russian former footballer Oleksiy Bugayev, mentioned in the list provided by the RFU for commemoration, was a volunteer in the Russian army during Russia's full-scale military aggression against Ukraine. He consciously and of his own free will decided to go to Ukrainian soil and kill innocent Ukrainian people, and he died last year due to these circumstances.

A similar situation applies to another former footballer — Zaur Kaziev, who was also in this list. Additionally, Kaziev played for the club illegally created by occupiers in temporarily occupied Crimea — "TSC-Tavriya."

The war in Ukraine has been ongoing since 2022 and continues to this day. The aggressor, remaining unpunished, takes the lives of Ukrainians every day — footballers, coaches, referees, as well as tens of thousands of civilians — children, women, elderly people — in their homes, hospitals, kindergartens, on the streets; destroys sports infrastructure and destroys entire cities. And all this is done by Russian soldiers — such as Bugayev and Kaziev.

The Ukrainian football community emphasizes that it is unacceptable and inappropriate for the European football family to show respect to such individuals, placing them on par with truly outstanding football figures. We urgently request your consideration of this issue. Such things should not happen,— states the letter.