A child from Mariupol handed a letter addressed to Boris Johnson through FC Shakhtar

Illia Kostushevych addressed the Prime Minister of Great Britain through FC Shakhtar

On May 26, a Come On, Let’s Play! training session of the Shakhtar Social Foundation was attended by the club’s CEO Sergei Palkin and the Director of Football Darijo Srna in Kyiv. They talked with displaced children and their parents, and also received an unusual request from a 6-year-old Illia Kostushevych from Mariupol. The matter is that the boy's parents were killed as a result of the Russian troops’ rocket attacks on the city, with the street and the area where they resided being fully destroyed. Volunteers saved the child from the blockade, and now the family of Maria and Volodymyr Bespalyi from Slovyansk have been taking care of Illia.

Not so long ago, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote an open letter addressed to Ukrainian children. And then Illia decided to send a reply to the head of the British government.

Below is the text of Illia Kostushevych's letter:

“Dear Boris Johnson!

I want the war to end more quickly, so that people don’t die anymore. I want to play football in my hometown of Mariupol. I would like all the children in the world to experience no war. Please say hello to all the kids in Britain for me, thank you for helping us. We will win! I have a cat named Frosya. I am sending you the flag of Ukraine that I drew. Hugging you tightly.

Illia, 6 years old"

Illia Kostushevych asked the executives of FC Shakhtar, in particular Darijo Srna, to hand this letter over to the British Prime Minister.

Darijo Srna, FC Shakhtar Director of Football:
“I will find a way to deliver Illia's letter. A child who has gone through so many things cannot be denied a request. And I will complete this mission. The family that have adopted the boy who lost his parents are great fellows. They practically gave the child a new life. I want to say a huge thank you to them for this! Today I’ve experienced the emotions that cannot be expressed in words. I want to say that we will stand by this family and be helping them, helping everyone who needs it. These days, it should be like this – everyone should support each other. May God give us all the strength to endure this, win and return to our normal living.”

Sergei Palkin, FC Shakhtar CEO:
“Unfortunately, there will be a lot of such stories during the war. Therefore, FC Shakhtar intends to provide support to families that adopt the kids who have lost their family members. Maria and Volodymyr are the people with really big hearts. They took on a great responsibility – both moral and financial. We will be helping such families as long as there is a need for it. Today we take care of two families. I wish there were as few such situations as possible, but they do exist, which means we will help.”

Maria and Volodymyr Bespalyi, adoptive parents of Illia:
“We have long planned to adopt a child. And when we learned the story of Illia, we decided to take him into our family. He has a medical condition that has caused two families to refuse adoption, but that hasn't deterred us. Shakhtar contacted us independently and offered to help us, for which we are so much grateful to the club. Illia loves football very much, he communicates well with the kids here, and he’s looking forward to training. By the way, Illia himself says that when he grows up, he will go to rebuild Mariupol.”