Football players Pedrinho and Maycon arrived in Brazil this morning (1), who play for Shakhtar Donetsk, from Ukraine. The two had been trying to leave the country since the attacks by Russian troops began. They landed at Guarulhos International Airport (SP).
Maycon expressed relief at arriving in his home country, along with his family. “Thank God. It was difficult times with many families. It is a moment of relief and happiness to be able to meet everyone. The boys [outros jogadores que ainda estão na Ucrânia] They’ll be fine too,” he said.
Maycon said that the notice from the Brazilian Embassy about the train leaving Ukraine was given with little notice, which created a race against time to reunite the families. “The embassy offered the option of a train, and in desperation we decided to leave quickly. This train would leave at 4 pm and it was already 3 pm, so we had to accelerate everyone with children with everything and we managed to arrive. After 17 hours by train and another 15 hours by bus we managed to cross the Moldovan border and then Romania,” he said.
According to the player, when everyone was inside the bunker (underground shelter) it was not possible to hear all the noises, but when it was necessary to leave, the noises were evident. “It’s a relief to see the family, but I’m distressed because there are still so many people there. We were 40 Brazilians and two Uruguayans. There are still a lot of Brazilians there and it’s getting worse and more dangerous. I don’t know what it will be.”
Pedrinho said that he no longer believed he would be able to leave the country, as the hotel where they were staying is in the center of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and where Russian troops were already advancing. “I didn’t see a way out for us anymore because they said it was already around. I was very afraid of my family not doing well. My fear was not being able to get out of there and not being able to stay for long,” he said.
