Armed men occupy offices of leading Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk

"Armed men" have occupied the offices of Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk, according to a news story posted to the club's official website.

 

The story claims that Shakhtar offices in Donetsk have been occupied and requests all official correspondence be redirected to an alternative address in the city. The club states that "circumstances of the incident are still being investigated."

 

Shakhtar are the reigning champions in Ukraine and are due to compete in this season's Champions League.

 

This is not the first time the team have found themselves embroiled in the ongoing fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian separatists in the Donbass region where Donetsk is located.

 

Earlier this month Shakhtar’s state of the art stadium, the Donbass Arena, was damaged by artillery shelling while the club’s training ground has also been hit.

 

 

Two missiles hit #Shakhtar's training base last night. Parts of it were destroyed. pic.twitter.com/0HDv9vEx8H

— Eliot Rothwell (@EliotRothwell) August 30, 2014

 

The Russian Football Federation has already incorporated three clubs from the Crimea region into their leagues, a move that has been condemned by Uefa.

 

EU officials are considering using football as a sanction against Russian aggression in the region with a boycott of the 2018 World Cup a possibility.