KEY POINTS:
- The $36 million donation comes after Shakhtar Donetsk received a record transfer fee for for winger Mykhailo Mudryk.
- The donation is part of the 'Heart of Azovstal' project.
- Ukrainian forces were holed up in the Azovstal steelworks for weeks as Russian forces tried to capture Mariupol city.
Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk will allocate $36 million to aid soldiers and their families.
The announcement was made by club president Rinat Akhmetov on Monday, a day after receiving a record transfer fee for winger Mykhailo Mudryk from Premier League Chelsea.
Akhmetov added that Shakhtar would play a friendly against Chelsea at their Donbass Arena in "a Ukrainian Donetsk".
Shakhtar said they will receive $109 million for Mudryk with another $47 million in potential bonuses.
Akhmetov said the donation would be allocated as part of a project titled 'Heart of Azovstal,' aimed at "helping Mariupol defenders and the families of fallen soldiers".
Ukrainian forces defending Mariupol were holed up in the Azovstal steelworks for weeks as Russian forces tried to capture the city. The Ukrainian soldiers eventually surrendered in May last year.
"I am allocating US$25 million ($36m) today to help our soldiers, defenders, and their families," Akhmetov said in a statement on the club's website.
"The money will be used to cover different needs - from providing medical and prosthetic treatment and psychological support to meeting specific requests.
"To ensure transparency, the project will have a professional independent team that will be in touch with the Azovstal defenders, their families, care providers, and volunteers."
Shakhtar, the Ukrainian champions, currently play in Kyiv as their home city is occupied by Russian forces.
