UPL moves Left Bank – Polesie match from Kyiv to Zhytomyr due to air raid alerts

The Ukrainian Premier League (UPL) board has decided to change the home team for the Round 6 fixture of the 2026/27 season between Kyiv's Left Bank and Polesie of Zhytomyr. According to a Sport RBC.UA report citing the official UPL website, the reason was the increased frequency and duration of air raid alerts in Kyiv and the Kyiv region, prompting the match to be moved to Zhytomyr territory.

"Mirror" swap of home teams across both legs

The Premier League approached the management of both clubs with a proposal to conduct a so-called "mirror" swap of home teams for the first and second legs of the 2026/27 season. According to the publication, both sides agreed to this condition, which will preserve the balance of home and away games within the regular championship.

Similar swap in UPL-2

The same mechanism was applied to the reserve teams' championship (UPL-2). In Round 6, the youth teams will play at Polesie's training base in Zhytomyr Oblast, while in the second leg the Kyiv side will be the host. Thus, the relocation affected not only the first teams but also the clubs' reserve squads.

The fate of the Dynamo – Epitsentr match remains undetermined

Within the same Round 6, a match between the capital's Dynamo and Epitsentr of Kamianets-Podilskyi was also scheduled to take place in Kyiv. The game is set for Monday, September 14, at the Valeriy Lobanovskyi Arena and is expected to kick off at 15:30. However, as of the time of publication, the Premier League had not yet made a decision on any changes to the staging of this match.

Strict restrictions in the capital

It is worth recalling that new strict restrictions have been introduced in Kyiv due to the security situation: in light of the growing threat to the civilian population, all entertainment and physical culture and sports events have been banned. The restrictions apply to both open areas and sports facilities that are not equipped with adequate shelters or do not have them in the immediate vicinity. This factor was key in the decision to relocate the Round 6 match.