Ukraine laments ‘Vladimir Putin’ chant at Istanbul match

ISTANBUL: Ukraine’s envoy to Turkey on Thursday expressed “sadness” over a chant of “Vladimir Putin” that rang out at a Champions League qualifying round football match in Istanbul involving Dynamo Kyiv.Images on social media showed a section of Fenerbahce’s packed stadium singing the Russian president’s name in response to Dynamo’s first goal against the Istanbul side on Wednesday.The Ukrainians won the match 2-1 after drawing 0-0 in the home leg played in Poland because of Russia’s invasion.They now progress to the third round of qualifying while Fenerbahce are knocked out.”It is very sad to hear the words of support from Fenerbahce’s fans for a Russian murderer and aggressor who bombed our country,” Ukraine’s ambassador Vasyl Bodnar tweeted.Fenerbahce said their fans’ behavior “does not represent the stance and values of our club.”But the club also argued that the chant “lasted only 20 seconds” and issued no formal apology.”We condemn both our country and our club being implicated on this issue,” Fenerbahce said in a statement.Europe’s football governing body UEFA said it was appointing an ethics and disciplinary investigator to look into “alleged misbehavior” by the Istanbul fans.Putin’s name is associated in Kyiv with both the five-month invasion and a Kremlin-backed separatist conflict that has claimed more than 14,000 lives in Ukraine’s southeast since 2014.Putin now questions the Ukrainian nation’s right to exist and brands its leaders as “Nazis” who must be deposed.Dynamo’s irate Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu refused to attend the mandatory post-match press conference in protest at the chant.”I did not expect such a chant,” he said in a statement released to Turkish media. “It is a pity.”Turkey is generally popular among many Ukrainians because of its military support for Kyiv’s Western-backed government.The Ukrainian army has used Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 combat drones to attack Russian armored columns and slow the Kremlin’s push into the Donbas war zone in the east.Ukraine now has a “Bayraktar” radio station and the drones feature in popular songs.The private company said on Thursday it was donating another drone to Ukraine in response to a fundraising effort in Poland aimed at collecting millions of dollars for the purchase of one of the unmanned aerial vehicles on Kyiv’s behalf.The Ukrainian ambassador thanked Turkey’s drone makers in another tweet.”Bayraktar will remain a symbol of friendship between our countries for many years,” Bodnar wrote.But Turkish media report that Putin has suggested to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Russia — in search of better combat drone support — start producing the Bayraktars to help its own war effort.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not deny the offer when asked about it by reporters on Wednesday.”Military and technological cooperation is always on the two countries’ agenda,” Peskov said.