I Was Five Seconds from Death: Akhmetov on Shakhtar's 90-Year Fight

The Morning After the Bombs

It is the morning after Russia's heaviest aerial raid on Kyiv in months. At least 25 people have been killed, and the city is still reeling. Rinat Akhmetov stands at the end of a paved driveway, half an hour from the city centre. Shakhtar Donetsk's owner rarely gives interviews, and his whereabouts during the war have been the subject of intense speculation.

But he is here. In Ukraine. Speaking to mark a moment that even he, a man who has seen everything, could not have predicted: the 90th anniversary of a club that has been in exile for over a decade.

Thirty Years at the Helm

It is 30 years since Akhmetov became president of Shakhtar, a reign that spans multiple Ukrainian titles, European campaigns, and the most extraordinary displacement in modern football. Forced from Donetsk in 2014, Shakhtar have wandered from Lviv to Kharkiv to Kyiv, yet they remain a symbol of resilience.

"I was five seconds from death. But we don't think about that now. We think about the future."

Akhmetov's words cut through the morning chill. The man is the richest person in Ukraine and arguably eastern Europe's most influential businessman, but here he talks football. Shakhtar has been a labour of love, the straightforward face of a career whose complexities beyond the pitch are widely documented.

The Steel Behind the Symbol

Akhmetov's influence spreads far beyond the touchline. He owns Azovstal, the iron and steelworks that became legendary in 2022 when Ukrainian defenders held out for weeks against a Russian onslaught. That siege turned the plant into a global emblem of resistance.

• Ukraine's richest man, with a fortune built on metals and energy
• 30 years as Shakhtar Donetsk's president and patron
• Club marks its 90th anniversary while still homeless
• Azovstal steelworks owner, a site that defined Ukraine's 2022 defiance

A Club Adrift, A Nation United

Shakhtar's last home match in Donetsk was in May 2014. Since then, the club has played in four different cities, won six Ukrainian Premier League titles, and reached the Champions League knockout stages. The tribulations have been unmatched.

Yet Akhmetov remains steadfast. He speaks of rebuilding the Donbas Arena one day, of returning to a city now scarred by war. For now, the club's academy continues to produce talent, and the first team competes with a fury that mirrors the national mood.

Optimism in the Ruins

The interview is not about the past, Akhmetov insists. It is about the future. The air raid sirens may still sound, but his message is clear: Shakhtar will outlast the bombs. The club's 90th year is not a funeral; it is a statement of survival.