Thousands of families in Ukraine have lived through this since the start of the war, and they face these thoughts every day. Those who are missing without a trace or are POWs — this is an issue that cannot be ignored because it affects us all collectively.

On the stage of the Jubilee Stadium, military uniforms were laid out. Nearby — photographs of those who are still being sought after. On this day in Bucha, football was not just about the score, although teams scored 18 goals. It was about hope — families living between hope, silence, and faith in return.

The football part of the match was spectacular: The Ukrainian Veterans Team defeated the Kyiv Region Team with a score of 10-8, but the main result of the day did not appear on the scoreboard.

In the Ukrainian team, Seliznev and Lisenko were particularly dangerous, scoring four and three goals respectively. Also scoring for the veterans were Starogorodskyi, Nazarenko, and Medvediev.

The Kyiv Region Team was formed by employees of the regional and district administrations, community representatives, military personnel, and volunteers. Notable in their lineup were Andriy Mykhalyshyn's hat-trick and Mikhola Kalashnik's goal.

The veterans' team also featured a star-studded lineup. Under the leadership of Andriy Biba, players such as Eduard Tychmeystruk, Serhiy Nagornyak, Yuriy Maksymov, Serhiy Pohorilyi, Yevhen Seliznev, Serhiy Nazarenko, Vitaliy Mandzyuk, Volodymyr Lisenko, Artem Starogorodskyi, Volodymyr Bondarenko, Hennadiy Medvediev, Viacheslav Sviderskyi, Vitaliy Samoylov, and Oleksandr Vengryns'kyi took to the field.

Due to service in the Armed Forces, Major Oleg Sobuts'kyi, founder of the veterans team, was absent. On his behalf and on behalf of the entire football community, Eduard Tychmeystruk greeted everyone before the match: "The veterans team supports military personnel; this is the main goal of all our matches for more than ten years since our founding. A few days ago, we played in Khmelnytskyi with the SSO Team to mark the tenth anniversary of Special Operations Forces. Today, we are together with families whose close ones are either POWs or missing without a trace. This is also our pain. We hope for better times and will always support military personnel and their families."

One of the main moments of the solidarity chain took place during halftime. Spectators, players from both teams, and honored guests lined up around the field, igniting blue and yellow flares. This was a sign that families of those missing without trace or POWs are not alone.

The match was organized by the Kyiv Oblast State Administration, Bucha City Council, NGO "Voices of Silence," Association of SSO Veterans of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Sobuts'kyi Family Charity Foundation, Agrobusiness LLC, Ukrainian Football Association, and other institutions and civic associations.