As a player, Oleg Protasov scored goal after goal for his hometown club Dnieper Dnepropetrovsk and was a member of the great USSR football team that caused a sensation in the late 1980s under the leadership of "General" Valery Lobanovsky.

For many experts, this selection was the best of the decade, despite losing the 1988 European Championship final against the Netherlands - mainly because of the Dynamo Kyiv players who shaped it.

Today Protasov, 58 years old, is Vice-President of the Ukrainian Football Association and is observing the Russian war of aggression against his home country from Kyiv.

Rarely has a trivial question been more justified: How are you?

Considering the circumstances: relatively good.

We are doing well and are following the Russian war drive on various information channels.

In the meantime we had no power supply and no internet connection for several hours, but both have now been restored.

Where are you currently holding out in the terrible situation?

I left my apartment in downtown Kyiv, especially since it is on the 14th floor of a building complex, which is not exactly safe.

Whenever the alarm sirens wail, the residents have to leave their apartment and go down to the basement, which is unacceptable in the long run without a lift.

That's why I'm currently staying with my friend and old teammate Gennady Lytovchenko at his house just outside of Kiev.

They were born and socialized in the former Soviet Union.

Did you ever expect that the Russian "brother people" would invade your homeland?

Certainly not!

Even when there were signs of an invasion after the Russian troops lined up on the Ukrainian border for supposed maneuvers, I didn't expect that this person would be ready to take this step.

We are already in the sixth day of the war, in which the Ukrainian people are putting up an inimitable resistance.

Could it be that Vladimir Putin miscalculated with this attack?

Putin wanted to wage a blitzkrieg, but he underestimated us.

Russian aggression has resulted in the Ukrainian people becoming a united force, willing and ready to sacrificially defend their homeland to the last breath.

First and foremost the President, Volodymyr Zelenskyj.

He makes a good impression as head of state and proves to be a model patriot.

It should not be forgotten that the Americans had offered to take him out of the country, which he categorically refused.

Are you disappointed by the West's initially hesitant, if not apathetic, attitude towards your country when all appeals for arms deliveries have come to nothing?

It's not the time for finger pointing.

I feel that now we are receiving solidarity and assistance from all over the world, be it in the form of military equipment or in kind.

Ultimately, we have earned this respect and solidarity with our self-sacrificing attitude.

In this respect, I would also like to express my personal gratitude here.

I would also like to highlight the initiative of our national players playing abroad, who raised half a million euros for the Ukrainian army with an appeal for donations.

Do you share the view of some war experts and analysts that each additional day of clashes tends to counteract the plans of the Russian war machine?

It sounds plausible and, as already mentioned, the development so far does not correspond to Putin's expectations.

It is also positive that negotiations are continuing in the diplomatic arena, which represents a glimmer of hope.

FIFA and UEFA have banned the Russian national team and teams from all international competitions.

Is it a little satisfaction for you?

I think that there was no alternative to this step.

It would be unimaginable that a Russian team would play a game under these conditions.

There is also the precedent of Yugoslavia thirty years ago.

In this respect, this sanctioning was a logical step.

The Ukrainian national team is scheduled to play in the World Cup qualifier play-off game in Scotland on March 24.

Do you think the game can be played?

At the moment it's a bit odd to think about it, especially since our focus is on completely different things.

As soon as the guns are down, we will deal with this topic.