Soldiers in Ukraine Play Football Just Hours After Airbase Standoff
An airbase standoff in the crisis-stricken Ukraine ended with a game of football in a remarkable moment in Sevastopol.
According to The Huffington Post, the football started just hours after the same Ukrainian soldiers had been "involved in a dramatic stand-off with suspected Russian military" at Belbek airfield.
The scene was reminiscent of the Christmas Day football match during World War I, when British and German troops broke off hostilities to play a football match. That match took place almost 100 years ago, in 1914.
"Ukrainian soldiers now playing football at Belbek. pic.twitter.com/gsNc4BhfDZ
— Mark Nelson (@camera_markitv) March 4, 2014"
ITV cameraman Mark Nelson captured the image.
The tensions between Russia and Ukraine have already had an effect on sport, with Ukrainian skier Bogdana Matsotska withdrawing early from the Sochi Winter Olympics in solidarity over protests in the capital.
Also, Wednesday's friendly between Ukraine and the U.S. was originally scheduled to be played in Kharkiv but moved to Cyprus because of the political unrest, as per Sports Illustrated.
