On Friday, August 8, Dynamo Kyiv will play their second match of the 2025/26 Ukrainian Premier League season.
The White-Blues will face Lviv's Rukh away from home. The match is scheduled to kick off at 18:00 at the Ukraina Stadium in Lviv.
Season Start
Rukh prepared for the new campaign in Ukraine, combining training sessions with friendly matches. In total the team played nine friendlies: they drew with Ahrobiznes (1:1), lost to Nyva Ternopil (1:2), defeated Chornomorets Odesa (1:0), shared the spoils with Epicentr (1:1), narrowly lost to Polish side Stal Rzeszów (0:1) during an away trip, suffered defeats to Kulykiv-Bilka (2:4) and Bukovyna Chernivtsi (0:2), and exchanged wins with Veres Rivne (2:0 and 1:2).
In the opening round of the UPL Rukh hosted league newcomers FC Poltava and secured a 2:1 victory. The first half saw the visitors score twice – once in their own net and once in Rukh’s – while Vitalii Roman netted the winner in the 86th minute.
Squad changes over the summer
Rukh made a managerial change in the off-season. Ivan Fedyk, 37, replaced Vitalii Ponomariov, who had led the team since March 2023.
The club continues to emphasize its homegrown talent. Among notable arrivals: midfielder Vlad Reilyan joined on loan from Moldovan side Zimbru, holding midfielder Yurii Kopyna returned after a stint with Oleksandriya, and club captain Marko Sapuha is back in action following a long injury layoff.
Several players departed over the summer, including:
Goalkeeper: Dmytro Ledvii (LNZ)
Defenders: Roman Didyk (LNZ)
Midfielders: Oleh Horin, Artur Riabov (both LNZ), Yurii Tlumak (Nyva Ternopil), Yaroslav Karabin (Karpaty), Artur Remeniak (Feniks)
Forwards: Yurii Klymchuk (Kolos), Vladyslav Pohoryilyi (free agent)
Season Start
Dynamo Kyiv prepared for the season in Austria, where they held a training camp and played six friendlies. The White-Blues exchanged wins with Hungarian side Kisvárda (0:2, 3:0), lost to Midtjylland (1:3), drew against West Bromwich Albion (1:1) and Romanian side Corvinul (0:0), and were narrowly beaten by Osijek (0:1).
Their official campaign kicked off in Champions league qualification where they comfortably defeated Maltese champions Hamrun Spartans 6:0 on aggregate. Vanat scored twice, with additional goals from Buyalskyi, Voloshyn, Brazhko and Mykhavko.
In the UPL Dynamo began with a narrow 1:0 win away to Veres Rivne thanks to a first-half goal from Mykola Shaparenko. However they come into the match against Rukh on the back of a midweek 0:1 defeat to Cyprus’ Pafos FC in the first leg of the Champions league third qualifying round.
Squad changes over the summer
Departures from the squad include:
Full-back Valerii Luchkevych
Right defender/central midfielder Navin Malysh and central midfielder Roman Salenko (both loaned to Zorya)
Centre-back Maksym Diachuk (loaned to Lechia Gdańsk, Poland)
Georgian midfielder Aleksandre Peikrishvili (loaned to Dinamo Tbilisi)
There were no new signings during the summer. The only additions were returning loanees: central midfielder Oleksandr Yatsyk and forward Vladyslav Supriaha (both from Zorya).
Referee: V. Romanov
Assistant Referees: S. Shlonchak (Cherkasy), V. Nyzhnyk (Vinnytsia)
Fourth Official: I. Salash (Kalush)
Referee Observer: Y. Moseichuk (Chernivtsi)
VAR Referee: A. Kovalenko (Poltava)
VAR Assistant: O. Solovian (Kyiv Region)
VAR Observer: M. Ovchar (Kalush)
Total matches: 9
Dynamo wins: 7
Draws: 2
Goal difference: 17–2 in Dynamo’s favor
Matches in Lviv (Rukh’s home): 5
Dynamo wins: 4
Draws: 1
Goal difference: 9–2 for Dynamo
