ISTANBUL: Ukraine鈥檚 envoy to Turkey on Thursday expressed 鈥渟adness鈥� over a chant of 鈥淰ladimir Putin鈥� that rang out at a Champions League qualifying round football match in Istanbul involving Dynamo Kyiv.
Images on social media showed a section of Fenerbahce鈥檚 packed stadium singing the Russian president鈥檚 name in response to Dynamo鈥檚 first goal against the Istanbul side on Wednesday.
The Ukrainians won the match 2-1 after drawing 0-0 in the home leg played in Poland because of Russia鈥檚 invasion.
They now progress to the third round of qualifying while Fenerbahce are knocked out.
鈥淚t is very sad to hear the words of support from Fenerbahce鈥檚 fans for a Russian murderer and aggressor who bombed our country,鈥� Ukraine鈥檚 ambassador Vasyl Bodnar tweeted.
Fenerbahce said their fans鈥� behavior 鈥渄oes not represent the stance and values of our club.鈥�
But the club also argued that the chant 鈥渓asted only 20 seconds鈥� and issued no formal apology.
鈥淲e condemn both our country and our club being implicated on this issue,鈥� Fenerbahce said in a statement.
Europe鈥檚 football governing body UEFA said it was appointing an ethics and disciplinary investigator to look into 鈥渁lleged misbehavior鈥� by the Istanbul fans.
Putin鈥檚 name is associated in Kyiv with both the five-month invasion and a Kremlin-backed separatist conflict that has claimed more than 14,000 lives in Ukraine鈥檚 southeast since 2014.
Putin now questions the Ukrainian nation鈥檚 right to exist and brands its leaders as 鈥淣azis鈥� who must be deposed.
Dynamo鈥檚 irate Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu refused to attend the mandatory post-match press conference in protest at the chant.
鈥淚 did not expect such a chant,鈥� he said in a statement released to Turkish media. 鈥淚t is a pity.鈥�
Turkey is generally popular among many Ukrainians because of its military support for Kyiv鈥檚 Western-backed government.
The Ukrainian army has used Turkey鈥檚 Bayraktar TB2 combat drones to attack Russian armored columns and slow the Kremlin鈥檚 push into the Donbas war zone in the east.
Ukraine now has a 鈥淏ayraktar鈥� radio station and the drones feature in popular songs.
The private company said on Thursday it was donating another drone to Ukraine in response to a fundraising effort in Poland aimed at collecting millions of dollars for the purchase of one of the unmanned aerial vehicles on Kyiv鈥檚 behalf.
The Ukrainian ambassador thanked Turkey鈥檚 drone makers in another tweet.
鈥淏ayraktar will remain a symbol of friendship between our countries for many years,鈥� Bodnar wrote.
But Turkish media report that Putin has suggested to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Russia 鈥� in search of better combat drone support 鈥� start producing the Bayraktars to help its own war effort.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not deny the offer when asked about it by reporters on Wednesday.
鈥淢ilitary and technological cooperation is always on the two countries鈥� agenda,鈥� Peskov said.