Russian shelling leaves stadium built for Euro 2012 as rubble with bomb craters

The Sonyachny Stadium, which was built in 2011 as a training base for Euro 2012, has been destroyed due to Russian shelling.

Ukraine co-hosted the footballing showpiece alongside Poland, with each country selecting four venues to host games. Metalist Kharkiv's stadium, the Metalist Oblast Sports Complex, was one of Ukraine's selections alongside stadiums in Kyiv, Lviv, and the Donbas.

The Metalist Oblast Sports Complex hosted three games at the tournament – including all three of the Netherlands' fixtures. And the Sonyachny Stadium was built nearby the host stadium to act as a base for the three sides that played in Kharkiv.

However, memories of Euro 2012 are long gone a decade on with the stands now reduced to rubble.

The main stand, which once boasted the words 'Euro 2012' in Ukrainian colours, has a significant hole missing from the top. While another stand has been completely torn to the ground as a result of shelling.

Rubble is also visible on the pitch, which has been left unattended since the breakout of war in February.

Ukrainian footballing facilities have taken heavy damage as a result of Russian shelling since the breakout of the war.

Desna Chernihiv's stadium, where West Ham star Andriy Yarmolenko first learned to kick a ball, was raised to the ground as a result of the war.

While Ukrainian Premier League side FC Mariupol reportedly folded due to the lack of facilities. Mariupol has seen first-hand the horrors of war, with the fighting between the two sides at its worst in the Ukrainian port city.

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