Shakhtar Donetsk brings message of resilience and investment to Champions League nights at Stamford Bridge

On Aug. 5 a logistics warehouse belonging to kit manufacturer Puma was destroyed by a Russian ballistic missile. That this in itself might seem an unremarkable event says everything about the trials endured by the Ukrainian people in the four and a half years since their country was invaded. That it seems unremarkable to Serhii Palkin, chief executive of Shakhtar Donetsk, says even more about the tribulations that the Ukrainian champions have been through. In that warehouse was the retail supply of 2026-27 home kits. Shakhtar will spend the months ahead playing Champions League games at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge.