The sixth-round Ukrainian Premier League match Veres v Kudrivka, scheduled for Saturday, 12 September, at 18:00 at the Avanhard in Rivne, did not take place: the kick-off was first delayed by an air-raid alert and then postponed indefinitely.
Match progress
20:34. The match has been postponed indefinitely because of the prolonged air-raid alert in Rivne. A new date will be announced later.
18:10. Air-raid alert in Rivne — the kick-off of Veres v Kudrivka has been delayed. The teams are waiting for the all-clear.
17:58. Kudrivka starting XI: Yashkov — Oharkov, Serdiuk, Potimkov, Pasich — Smyrnyi, Dumaniuk — Petriak, Rosales — Bieliaiev, Verley. Substitutes: Lavuta, Semenov, Melnychuk, Viktor, Makosso, Siheiev, Plaksa, Sten, Yesin, Svitiukha, Yushchenko, Owusu.
For Bucha this game is anything but foreign: in the 2024/25 season Kudrivka played their home matches at Bucha’s Yuvileinyi, and in spring 2024 their predecessor, Kudrivka-Nyva of Buzova, played there too. The club’s president sits on the executive committee of the district football association.
The match protocol is in the UPL match report and Kudrivka’s match centre.
The referee is Mykhailo Raida from Zakarpattia, with Mykola Balakin on VAR.
Why this is our game
Kudrivka president Roman Solodarenko is a member of the executive committee of the Bucha District Football Association. On 11 September he attended the committee meeting at which BRAF introduced video replays at amateur level.
The club’s place in the First League also came by way of the Bucha district. In December 2023 Solodarenko became the owner of Nyva Buzova; in spring 2024 the team played as Kudrivka-Nyva, and ahead of the 2024/25 season the two clubs merged into one — Kudrivka.
Legally it is the same team from Buzova: in the PFL register it carries the same identifier as Nyva, and the UAF database still lists it as Kudrivka-Nyva Buzova.
In June 2024 Solodarenko noted that the Yuvileinyi in Bucha remained the club’s reserve ground, while the club’s base was in Buzova.
In 2024/25 Kudrivka played 11 competitive matches in Bucha: eight First League home games and three cup ties. Among them were a 0-1 defeat to Epitsentr on 27 April 2025 in the championship group and a 3-2 win over Livyi Bereh in the Ukrainian Cup on 13 August 2024.
At that cup tie in Bucha the additional assistant referee was none other than Mykhailo Raida — today he takes charge on the pitch. And Yashkov, Potimkov, Dumaniuk, Vechurko, Serdiuk and Svitiukha from the current squad all ran out at the Yuvileinyi in the blue-and-white shirt. The team sheets also listed the president himself among the substitutes — Solodarenko is registered as a player.
Where Kudrivka stand
After five rounds Kudrivka are 16th and bottom: two draws, three defeats, goals 2-13 and two points. Kolos have the same tally but have played a game fewer and have a better goal difference. Thirteen conceded is the worst defensive record in the league, according to the UPL table.
| Date | Match | Score | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 August | Shakhtar – Kudrivka | 5-1 | 4,165 |
| 8 August | Livyi Bereh – Kudrivka | 0-0 | 824 |
| 15 August | Kudrivka – Obolon | 0-0 | 251 |
| 29 August | Kudrivka – Epitsentr | 0-3 | 238 |
| 4 September | Polissia – Kudrivka | 5-1 | 2,884 |
Kudrivka are also playing their home matches at the Avanhard in Rivne this season — crowds of 251 and 238 turned up. So today the team is “away” at the very stadium where it hosts its own opponents.
Yet it is at the Avanhard that Kudrivka have already beaten the Rivne side: 4-1 in a March friendly, as Veres themselves admit, and in the competitive game on 14 March they held out for a 0-0 draw.
Preparation has been ragged. On Wednesday, 9 September, Kudrivka went out of the Ukrainian Cup — 0-2 to Polissia in Zhytomyr, a match that finished late in the evening because of air-raid alerts. Bohdan Vekliak is suspended, Anton Demchenko and Kostiantyn Bychek did not make the squad, while Dmytro Semenov and Serhii Sten, both back from injury, are on the bench.
Asked after Zhytomyr why Kudrivka had looked a different side in the cup than in the UPL, senior coach Oleksandr Protchenko replied that the team was the same and the difference came down to refereeing decisions.
Oleksandr Protchenkosenior coach, FC KudrivkaKudrivka came out just the same — set up for a fight, for the game. But unfortunately, in that match they check VAR and send people off, while in ours they don’t even look when a player is stepped on from behind — that’s a potential red card.
A Polissia player handles the ball after a cross in the league match. Today our player beats his man — the referee doesn’t give a clear penalty. Those are the moments that affect us.
What about Veres
Veres have five points from five rounds: one win, two draws, two defeats, goals 3-4. At home in the league Veres have gone five matches without a win — this season a 1-2 defeat to Dynamo in front of 5,400 and a 1-1 draw with Zorya in front of 2,120. Their last home win was 2-0 over Obolon on 11 April, and the referee that day was the same Raida.
The hosts have injury worries of their own. Australian forward Nathanael Blair broke his fibula in the Zorya match and underwent surgery in Rivne on 7 September.
According to sport.ua, Greek player Konstantinos Stamoulis was due to rejoin full training on 9 September after a bruised shoulder.
Six days ago head coach Oleh Shandruk could only hope: "I hope that by the match against Kudrivka he will be ready to help the team," he said after the Zorya game. It was then that he also set out the task for the Kudrivka match.
Oleh Shandrukhead coach, NK VeresWe always play to win. We don’t want to avoid losing the match — we want to win it.
In the second half it already looked more like Veres’s game, like Veres’s character. And it is very important to go into the Kudrivka game with the same attitude we had in the second half against Zorya.
Veres themselves describe the game as “practically a Rivne derby”: Kudrivka have hosted their opponents at the Avanhard since February — because of the lack of their own infrastructure and the security situation in Chernihiv region, as the Rivne club explains. The visitors have four former Veres players in their ranks: Mykhailo Kulyk, Yevhenii Pasich, Denys Svitiukha and Serhii Sten.
The sides have met twice — both times in Rivne:
| Date | Match | Score | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 September 2025 | Veres – Kudrivka | 2-0 | 3,200 |
| 14 March 2026 | Kudrivka – Veres | 0-0 | 756 |
Today is the third competitive meeting, and the third at the Avanhard. Exactly a year ago, to the day and the hour, Veres won 2-0, and after Denys Ndukve was sent off in the 56th minute they saw the game out with ten men without conceding. In the spring Kudrivka answered with a goalless draw — a Kudrivka goal that day was ruled out by VAR for handball.
Two matches in one evening
That same evening in Kyiv, Bucha Fortuna lost 1-4 to Kyiv region leaders Kalynivka — the recording and match events are on our site.
Veres – Kudrivka is shown only on the UPL.TV channel — on cable networks and paid OTT platforms; it is not on free-to-air television. The only free stream on YouTube will be the reserves' game — Veres U21 v Kudrivka U21 on Sunday, 13 September, at 13:00.
As a reminder, on 11 September at Bucha’s Yuvileinyi, YUKSA beat Chernihiv 3-2 — the winner came in the third minute of added time.
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