►Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week that Russia now controls almost 20% of the country’s territory. Before the war, Russia controlled 7%, including the Crimea peninsula and parts of the Donbas.
Ukraine’s spirited and inspiring chase of a spot in soccer’s World Cup amid the war fell one win short of its goal Sunday. The Ukrainian national team lost 1-0 to Wales in the European playoff final, failing to qualify for the quadrennial tournament.
An own-goal by Andriy Yarmolenko in the first half accounted for the margin of victory for Wales, which reached the World Cup for the first time in 64 years.
Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey stopped a couple of strong Ukrainian attempts at equalizing in the second half, denying a storybook ending for the visitors and the legions of supporters who have taken up their cause. Ukrainian players entered the field with a yellow and blue flag sent by soldiers on the frontlines.
The specter of the war was evident in the Welsh capital with a message of peace in English and Ukrainian on the screens in the Cardiff City Stadium, where the home fans applauded the Ukrainian national anthem. Back home, on the 102nd day of the war, Ukrainians took respite from the pain and suffering by watching the game in bars, including in the capital Kyiv hours after it was hit by Russian airstrikes.
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