Soccer
• Zorya Luhansk tied 1-1 with Braga of Portugal on August 9 at home and tied 2-2 in the second-leg match on August 16 in Braga, Portugal, as part of the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round. Zorya advanced to the play-off round against RB Leipzig on August 23 and 30. FC Mariupol won 2-1 on August 2 and tied 1-1 on July 26 in its qualifier against Djurgarden of Sweden and Mariupol advanced to the play-off round against Bordeaux after winning 3-2 on aggregate goals. Mariupol was eliminated after it lost 1-3 against Bordeaux on August 9 in the first-leg match in Odesa and lost 1-2 on August 16 in Bordeaux, France. Vorskla Poltava secured its spot in the group stage based on its performance in the Ukrainian Premier League, with the UEFA group stage drawing to be held on August 31 and matches to begin on September 20.
• Ukraine’s Under-19 team qualified for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup after the team finished in first place in Group B as part of the UEFA U-19 Championships group stage with seven points after three matches played. In the group stage, Ukraine won 1-0 against Turkey on July 23, tied 1-1 with England on July 20 and won 2-1 against France on July 17, but lost 0-5 in the semifinal against Portugal on July 26.
• Dynamo Kyiv won 1-0 against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukrainian Super Cup on July 21 at Chornomorets Stadium in Odesa. Vitaliy Buyalsky scored the lone goal in the 18th minute. This mark’s Dynamo’s seventh Super Cup win, while Shakhtar has won it eight times.
• Ukraine’s women’s team won 1-0 against Sweden on June 12 as part of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Group 4 qualifiers. Team captain Daryna Apanaschenko scored for Ukraine in the 41st minute. Ukraine is in third place in Group 4 with 10 points after six matches played. Denmark and Sweden are tied for first place with 15 points each. Hungary is in fourth place (four points) and Croatia is in fifth place (two points). Ukraine plays against Sweden again on August 30 and against Hungary on September 4.
• Ukraine won 4-1 against Albania in an international friendly match on June 3 in Evian, France, and Ukraine tied 0-0 with Morocco in an international friendly match on May 31 in Lancy, Switzerland.
• Shakhtar Donetsk won the Ukrainian Premier League Cup title (for the 11th time) on May 19, topping the table with four wins and three losses in the championship round. During the regular season, Shakhtar tallied 51 points, besting second-place Dynamo Kyiv by six points. In the championship round, Shakhtar topped the table with 75 points, compared to second-place Dynamo Kyiv with 73 points. Both teams advanced to the UEFA Champions League, with Shakhtar earning a spot in the group stage. Dynamo won the third qualifying round against Slavia Prague, with a 1-1 draw on August 7 and winning 2-0 on August 14. Dynamo lost 1-3 against Ajax of the Netherlands in the play-off round on August 22; the second-leg match is on August 29. Three Ukrainian clubs advanced to the UEFA Europa League, including third-place Vorskla Poltava, with a spot secured in the group stage, and Zorya Luhansk and FC Mariupol, fourth- and fifth-place finishers, respectively, earn spots in the qualifying rounds (third- and second-rounds, respectively). Fecundo Ferreyra of Shakhtar was named the top goal-scorer of the season with 21 goals and one penalty kick.
• In the 2019 UEFA Regions Cup, Ukraine, represented by Lviv Oblast FC, is set to host Group 6 in the intermediate round, including Castile and Leon (Spain), Ugur (Uzbekistan) and KaaPo (Finland), with matches to be played October 2-8. Lviv Oblast qualified by winning 2-1 against Sumy Oblast in the final of the 2018 Football Federation of Ukraine Regions Cup on June 23 in Kyiv.
• Ukraine is set to play against the Czech Republic on September 6 and October 16 as part of the UEFA Nations League. Ukraine, in League B Group 1, plays against Slovakia on September 9 and November 16. The tournament results will be used to seed teams for the qualification process of UEFA Euro 2020; spots in the play-offs will decide four of the 24 final tournament slots. The top team in each group will be promoted to League A.
• Ukraine’s U-21 men’s team in Group 4 of the UEFA U-21 Championship, plays against Latvia on September 7 at Metalurh Stadium in Zaporizhia, against Andorra on September 11, against Scotland on October 12 and against the Netherlands on October 16. Ukraine is in fourth place in Group 4 with eight points after six matches played (2-2-2), with 11 goals for and six against.
• Andriy Yarmolenko, 28, who played for Germany’s Borussia Dortmund, has signed a contract with England’s West Ham United FC. Sao Paulo midfielder Marquinhos Cipriano, 19, has signed a five-year contract with Shakhtar Donetsk. Brazilians Sidcley and Danilo das Neves Pinheiro (Tche Tche) signed contracts with Dynamo Kyiv. Andriy Lunin, previously goalkeeper for Zorya Luhansk, signed with Real Madrid on June 22. The six-year contract transfer for the 19-year-old from Zorya to Real cost 9 million euros, with an expected increase of 3.5 million euros with bonuses. Ukraine’s national team coach, Andriy Shevchenko, and his assistants extended their contract with the Football Federation of Ukraine until 2020, following a decision by the FFU’s committee meeting in Odesa on July 21. The committee tasked the coaching staff with reaching the finals of the Euro-2020 European Football Championship.
Tennis
• Elina Svitolina slipped to the No. 7 spot (down two spots in 15 months) with 4,470 points in the WTA rankings that were released on August 13. Lesia Tsurenko moved down one spot to No. 44, Kateryna Bondarenko slipped to 86th place and Kateryna Kozlova holds the 90th spot.
• Elina Svitolina won 6-0, 6-4 against Romanian Simona Halep, ranked No. 1 by the Women’s Tennis Association, at the WTA Series Premier 5 in Rome on May 20.
Boxing
• Welterweight Eduard Skavinskyi (9-0, 6 KO) won by unanimous decision after 10 rounds against countryman Oleksandr Ivanov (15-4, 8 KO) for the WBO Oriental welterweight title in Ekatarinburg, Russia, on August 19. Skavinskyi also won the vacant IBF Baltic welterweight title. Judges scored the fight 98-91, 99-90, 97-91. Both boxers reside in Russia but claim Ukrainian nationality.
• Ukrainian boxers were on display on June 23 at the Sports Palace in Kyiv. Welterweight Karen Chukhadzhyan (11-1, 6 KO) won after Enes Refik Ciftci (5-1, 3 KO) of Turkey retired in the sixth round. Chukhadzhyan won the youth WBO welterweight title. Lightweight Denys Berinchyk (9-0, 6 KO) won after Jose Luis Prieto (26-5, 17 KO) of Colombia retired in the fifth round in a fight scheduled for 10 rounds. Featherweight Oleg Malinovsky (23-0, 7 KO) won when Wallington Orobio (19-4, 16 KO) of Colombia retired after five rounds. Super welterweight Stanislav Skorohod (12-2, 9 KO) lost by split decision after 10 rounds against Aram Amirkhanyan (11-0-1, 3 KO) of Russia for the WBO international super welterweight title.
• Super featherweight Ihor Magurin (10-0-1, 4 KO) won by unanimous decision after 10 rounds against Daniele Limone (16-7-1, 5 KO) of Italy on June 17 in Kyiv. Magurin won the vacant IBA intercontinental super featherweight title.
• Flyweight Artem Dalakian (17-0, 12 KO) retained his WBA title by eighth-round TKO against Sirichai Thaiyen (43-4, 29 KO) of Thailand on June 17 at Parkovy Convention Center in Kyiv for the WBA flyweight title. The fight was scheduled for 12 rounds.
• Welterweight Ivan Redkach (21-4-1, 16 KO) won by unanimous decision after eight rounds against Brian Jones (14-9, 8 KO) of the U.S.A. on June 9 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Judges scored the bout 77-75, 78-74, 79-73.
• Heavyweight Vladyslav Sirenko (7-0, 6 KO) won by first-round TKO against Alick Gogodo (4-2, 3 KO) of Malawi on May 25 at the Portuguese Hall in Johannesburg, South Africa. The fight was scheduled for six rounds.
• Lightweight WBA champion Vasyl Lomachenko underwent shoulder surgery, following an injury sustained after the fight against Jorge Linares of Venezuela on May 12. Lomachenko was visited at the hospital by Arnold Schwarzenegger, former governor of California, who congratulated Lomachenko on his last fight victory. Lomachenko is likely to return to training in early October, with his next fight to be announced.
• Middleweight Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-0, 10 KO) is scheduled to fight against Daniel Jacobs (34-2-0, 29 KO) of the U.S.A. in Uniondale, Long Island, on November 10 for the vacant IBF title. The IBF title became vacant in June after Gennadiy Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KO) of Kazakhstan was stripped of his title when he refused to fight against Derevyanchenko. Golovkin fights a rematch against Canelo Alvarez on September 15.
• Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko is set to compete in an exhibition chess match against Lennox Lewis in Kyiv during the hosting of the World Boxing Council congress on September 30 through October 5. The two fighters originally met in a 2003 bout that ended in a controversial decision. The fight was stopped after Klitschko suffered a cut above his left eye and was ahead on points, but Lewis was declared the winner. The two fighters agreed to play the chess match in a boxing ring to match wits instead of fists. Also attending the congress will be former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield.
Artistic swimming
• Yelyzaveta Yakhno won gold in the women’s solo technical routine and gold in the women’s solo free event at the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series on June 7-9 in Los Angeles. Yakhno and Anastasiya Savchuk won silver in the women’s duet technical event, and Ukraine’s women’s team (Maryna Aleksiiva, Oleksandra Kashuba, Oleksadra Kovalenko, Alina Shynkarenko, Yana Zariezhna, Savchuk, Vladiyslava Aleksiiva and Yakhno) won gold in the women’s team technical event. Ukraine’s women’s team won gold in the team free combination routine, gold in the women’s team free event and gold in the women’s team highlight event. Yakhno and Savchuk won silver in the women’s duet free event.
• Ukraine won gold in the women’s team technical routine at the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series on May 31 through June 2 in Surrey, British Columbia. Ukraine won gold in the women’s team free combination, Yelyzaveta Yakhno won silver in the women’s solo technical, and Marta Fiedina finished in fourth place. Yakhno and Anastasiya Savchuk won silver in the women’s duet technical, and Maryna and Vladyslava Aleksiiva finished in fourth place. Ukraine also won gold in the women’s team free event and the women’s team highlight. Yakhno won silver in the women’s solo free and Fiedina finished in fourth place; Savchuk and Yakhno won silver in the women’s duet free, and the Aleksiiva sisters finished in fourth place.
• Ukraine won gold in the women’s team free combination routine at the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series on May 18-20 in Budapest. Ukraine’s women’s duet technical teams – Yelyzaveta Yakhno/Anastasiya Svachuk, and Maryna/Vladyslava Aleksiiva – won gold and bronze, respectively. Ukraine won gold in the women’s team highlight; Yakhno won silver in the women’s solo technical, silver in the women’s team technical event; in the women’s duet free events, Savchuk and Yakhno won gold and the Aleksiiva sisters won bronze. Ukraine also won silver in the women’s team free event, and Yakhno and Savchuk won silver and bronze, respectively, in the women’s solo free routine; Marta Fiedina finished in fifth place in the same event.
• Ukraine’s women’s team won gold in the women’s team free combination and gold in the women’s team free event at the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series 2018 on May 11-13 in Samorin, Slovakia. Ukraine’s women’s team won silver in the women’s team technical program.