Despite Russia’s criticism, UEFA has approved the uniform for the Ukrainian national team to compete in the upcoming European Football Championship, which will feature slogans ‘Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!’ the UEFA press service told TASS in a statement.
Together with nationalist slogans, the kit also includes an outline of Russian-annexed Crimea.
In a statement on Facebook on Sunday, Andriy Pavelko, the president of the Football Federation of Ukraine, said that Ukrainian players will wear "special uniforms" and posted photos of the jerseys in the blue-and-yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag, Moscow Times reports.
The uniforms feature the silhouette of Ukraine that includes Russia-annexed Crimea and the separatist-controlled regions of Donetsk and Lugansk as well as the words "Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Heroes!"
"We believe that Ukraine's silhouette will give strength to the players because they will fight for all of Ukraine," Pavelko said.
The "Glory to Ukraine" slogan is a patriotic chant that became a rallying cry for protesters who ousted a Kremlin-backed leader, Viktor Yanukovych, during a popular uprising in 2014.
The revolt was condemned as illegal by Moscow and sparked a crisis in ties between the two neighboring countries. Russia annexed Crimea and supported Russia-speaking insurgents in Ukraine's industrial east. The conflict has claimed the lives of over 13,000 people since 2014.
The "Glory to Ukraine" call and "Glory to the Heroes!" response are associated with Ukraine's decades-old fight for independence.
The slogans have drawn criticism from Moscow for its association with World War II-era nationalist groups who both fought against and cooperated with the Nazis.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Sunday derided the new uniforms of the ex-Soviet state, saying Ukraine's football team "attached Ukraine's territory to Russia's Crimea."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking to state news agency TASS, declined to comment and referred all questions to European football's governing body UEFA.
Several Russian MPs accused Ukraine of politicizing football.
"This is totally inappropriate," lawmaker Dmitry Svishchyov told Kremlin-backed RT, formerly known as Russia Today, urging UEFA to react.
"Let our players then take to the pitch in T-shirts featuring the contours of the Russian empire that include Poland, Ukraine and Finland."
Anatoly Vorobyov, the former general secretary of the Russian Football Union, said European football's governing body might interfere if Russia formally protests.
Speaking to RT, he quipped the Ukrainians had designed the kits under the influence of "magic mushrooms."
Postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Euro 2020 will be played from June 11 to July 11 across 11 cities.
