He was running the biggest soccer club in Ukraine. After war broke out, his life changed forever

The noise of fighter jets zipping overhead is a sound that Serhii Palkin finds difficult to forget – even two years on.

Like every Ukrainian, the 49-year-old lived through the “nightmare” that unfolded as Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

While he scrambled to keep his young family safe amid the near constant bombardment, Palkin also had the responsibility of looking after Ukraine’s most successful soccer club, Shakhtar Donetsk.

You would never guess Palkin is living through a war when you first meet him. He’s calm, measured and quick to quip a joke as he sits down in an unassuming meeting room in London to reflect on how his personal and professional life has changed forever.

“We are all suffering from everything that’s going on. Two years is a huge term to stay in these kinds of conditions … a very big impact on your psychological stability, on your moral aspects,” the softly spoken Palkin tells CNN Sport.

“Mentally, it’s difficult to survive, day-by-day, week-by-week, month-by-month. Almost two years we have been in these kinds of conditions.”

Palkin was named Shakhtar Donetsk’s CEO in 2004, taking charge of the most decorated club in Ukraine. In addition to its domestic dominance, the team regularly competes in the UEFA Champions League, alongside the biggest names of the sport.

While previously occupied with the daily running of the business, the former accountant now confronts issues of life and death on a daily basis.

Soccer, all of a sudden, wasn’t important. People’s lives became the biggest priority.