Marked for Ruslan Babenko
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Polissia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lindon Emërllahu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad26 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Polissia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Dmytro Buialskyi and Polissia agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Denys Shakhov after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Match24 Oct 2026
Point won or two lost for Polissia?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Metalist? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Looking ahead26 Oct 2026
Kolos next, and one man in the Polissia dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Off the academy pitches and onto a senior team sheet at 17. The debut is the easy part; the second appearance is the one every young player has to earn.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match12 Sep 2026
Kudrivka will want this one forgotten quickly: 6‑2, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Polissia were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad14 Sep 2026
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
At 33 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 8.55, and nobody on the pitch better.
Market14 Sep 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Polissia close the window on a squad of their own making
16 in and 4 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Market14 Sep 2026
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Metalist moved on, Ruslan Babenko reports back to Polissia, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: OFI keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ihor Krasnopir and Polissia agree another 4 years.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Polissia
Maksym Braharu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market7 Sep 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Everything agreed with OFI, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
No deal for Ihor Horbach at that price
Polissia offered $480.0K; Zorya said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Ihor Krasnopir was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Polissia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lindon Emërllahu is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Polissia asked and Wanderers said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market7 Sep 2026
The name of Ruslan Babenko has come up in conversations Polissia were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Match5 Sep 2026
A bad afternoon for Polissia against Obolon
0‑1 to Obolon, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
In brief
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Squad
Ilir Krasniqi slips down the pecking order
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Squad
8 new faces, and Polissia are still learning each other
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market17 Aug 2026
Bnei Yehuda come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Polissia did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: another club keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
No deal for Alaa Ghram at that price
Polissia offered $820.0K; Shakhtar said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Polissia
Lindon Emërllahu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Nazar Balaba arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Nazar Balaba has, at Polissia, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Polissia asked and Shakhtar said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match15 Aug 2026
Leandro Andrade scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Karpaty, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.30, and no argument anywhere in the ground.