Since the beginning of the war, Russian occupiers have damaged or destroyed 88 stadiums in Ukraine, 14 of which were completely destroyed. Direct damage caused to sports infrastructure is estimated at $4 billion, UNN writes.
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On Friday, August 7, Russia’s army attacked Odesa, damaging the Chornomorets football stadium. The attack damaged the roof, glazing, and stands. The stadium’s press service said that it was assessing the extent of the damage and determining the scope of work required for restoration.
It later became known that a significant part of the restoration work had already been completed, and the hotel, office, gym, conference rooms, and all facilities on the premises continued to operate as usual.
Cases such as the one involving Chornomorets Stadium are not isolated. In response to a request, the Ministry of Youth and Sports told UNN that since the beginning of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, damage to or destruction of 88 stadiums has been reported in total, including:
- 44 – damaged;
- 30 – partially destroyed;
- 14 – completely destroyed.
Stadiums in 14 regions of Ukraine have suffered damage or destruction. The largest number of such facilities was affected in Kherson region – 18, Donetsk region – 17, Kharkiv region – 16, and Luhansk region – 9. In Zaporizhzhia region, 7 stadiums suffered damage and/or destruction; in Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv regions – 5 each; in Sumy region – 3; in Chernihiv and Mykolaiv regions – 2 each; in Poltava, Odesa, and Khmelnytskyi regions – 1 each; as well as 1 stadium in the city of Kyiv.
The ministry reported that, according to the results of the fourth phase of the Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA4), conducted jointly with the World Bank, direct damage to Ukraine’s sports infrastructure as of December 2024 was estimated at approximately $374 million. At the same time, the RDNA5 report estimates direct damage to cultural, sports, and tourism infrastructure collectively at $4 billion, without separately identifying the sports component.
Stadiums destroyed at the beginning of the war
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Chernihiv, located near the Russian border, has remained under constant threat of enemy strikes. At the very beginning of the major war, specifically on March 5, 2022, Chernihiv’s main arena and the home stadium of Chernihiv’s Desna, which, incidentally, suspended its participation in the Premier League because of Russia’s aggression – Yuri Gagarin Stadium – was damaged during artillery shelling, with the occupiers striking the eastern stand.
Yuri Gagarin Stadium from above
The arena suffered its most destructive strike on the night of March 11, when Russian aircraft dropped 8 aerial bombs on the stadium grounds. One of the stands was then almost completely destroyed, the football pitch suffered significant damage, and the sports complex’s infrastructure was reduced to ruins. The explosions destroyed the spaces beneath the stands and damaged administrative buildings, utilities, and the surrounding area.
From the first days of the full-scale invasion on February 24, Mariupol was under constant shelling, resulting in the destruction of the vast majority of buildings. The city in Donetsk region, which was defended to the last by Azov fighters, has been under complete Russian occupation since May 20, 2022.
One of the structures damaged by shelling from Russian forces was the arena of the city’s main football team, FC Mariupol, which could accommodate more than 12,000 spectators.
As in the case of Desna, Mariupol also suspended its participation in football competitions because of Russia’s aggression. In 2022, Mariupol vice president Andrii Sanin posted a video and photographs of the destroyed stadium. The stadium had once hosted matches of the 2009 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, where our youth team won by defeating their English counterparts in the final (2–0). At that time, the English team included Kyle Walker, Danny Welbeck, Kieran Trippier, Danny Drinkwater, Andros Townsend, and other English stars.
Russians like to claim that they are rebuilding Mariupol, which they themselves destroyed, but the condition of the stadium can be seen even on Google Maps.
UEFA has extended Russia's suspension for the 2026/27 season07.06.26, 20:49
Attack on Dynamo Stadium
On May 24, on the eve of the final round of the Ukrainian Premier League, Kyiv experienced another massive attack involving strike UAVs, air-, sea- and land-based missiles, as well as the "Oreshnik", with which the Russians hit garages in Bila Tserkva.
As a result of the attack, more than 30 people were injured, including children. At the same time, Dynamo Valeriy Lobanovskyi Stadium was damaged by falling debris from downed enemy targets.
The blast wave and debris damaged the arena’s infrastructure: windows were blown out in the club office, the building’s facade was damaged, and tiles at the stadium’s main entrance were also damaged.
Fortunately, the stadium’s pitch and stands were not damaged, allowing Dynamo to play against Kudrivka in the UPL’s final round (3:2).
In addition, in December 2022, debris from Russian drones fell on Dynamo Kyiv’s educational and training base in Koncha-Zaspa.
"Early in the morning of December 14, three fragments of a downed Iranian drone fell on the territory of the Dynamo Kyiv base. Fortunately, neither the employees nor the club’s infrastructure were harmed. Nevertheless, a tournament involving 30 teams of children born in 2011 was taking place in those days. The games were supposed to begin several hours after the attack… and after the air raid alert was canceled, they began," Dynamo press officer Andriy Shakhov Jr. wrote on Instagram.
Polissya Stadium
In March this year, the home stadium of Zhytomyr’s Polissya was also damaged during the shelling of Zhytomyr. The strike occurred in the area between the VAR vehicle and Section 18, which is located near the ultras. The strike caused deformation of the metal fences, damage to the stand structures, and damage to some of the plastic seats.
Polissya managed to promptly organize restoration work, eliminate the consequences of the destruction, and even announce plans to complete the eastern and southern stands so that the stadium would acquire the features of a full-fledged arena with stands on all four sides.
"The permitting documentation is currently being resolved; we are cooperating and communicating with the owner—the regional council, which provides all the relevant permits for the lease of the land plot," Polissya General Director Volodymyr Zahurskyi said.
Attack on Vorskla’s Training Stadium
In January 2026, as a result of air defense operations and falling debris in the Poltava region, the roof of one of the enterprises and a sports field were damaged. The pitch at Molodizhnyi Stadium, where Vorskla’s senior and women’s teams held training sessions, was also damaged; earlier, Vorskla U19 had played its matches there as part of the youth championship.
Attacks on Kharkiv’s Stadiums
In July 2022, infrastructure at the city’s main stadium—Metalist Regional Sports Complex, where UPL matches are not held due to the security situation—was damaged as a result of another shelling of Kharkiv. At around five in the morning, the occupiers shelled a residential area near the Sportyvna and Zakhysnykiv Ukrainy metro stations, where the home arena of Kharkiv clubs Metalist and Metalist 1925 (now Kharkiv) is located. Explosions sent shrapnel across the stadium pitch, damaging it.
On March 26, 2025, the Russian army attacked Kharkiv, Sumy, and Dnipro. In particular, a football match was taking place near Metalist Regional Sports Complex in Kharkiv. The footballers who were on the field began fleeing it, while those who did not manage to do so dropped to the ground for safety.
However, Russia is waging war not only against large stadiums, but also against school ones. Thus, in May 2024, Russian occupiers struck a school stadium where children were playing at the time.
An 8-year-old girl and three boys aged 14, 14, and 15 were injured in the attack. One of the boys had his leg torn off.
Occupied Stadiums
What immediately comes to mind in a football context when Donetsk is mentioned? Of course, FC Shakhtar Donetsk and Donbas Arena—the first stadium in Eastern Europe designed and built in accordance with UEFA Category 4 standards. According to UEFA and FIFA accreditation, the structure meets the "elite" class.
After the "miners" left their native city, separatists began to "look after" the stadium. Who could have imagined that the stadium where American singer Rihanna performed in 2011 and which hosted home matches during UEFA Euro 2012 would fall into such a neglected state: the area around the stadium and the landscape park are becoming overgrown with weeds, there are no crowds or events, and the structure itself is gradually deteriorating due to a lack of proper maintenance, although the façade made of Donetsk glass is still recognizable from the outside.
Regular maintenance of the green areas and roses has stopped, the lawns have turned yellow, and the paths are empty.
In 2026, Ukrainian intelligence officers and drones operated by Ukrainian Armed Forces units flew over temporarily occupied Donetsk and recorded the arena’s current sad appearance from a bird’s-eye view.