Quote Originally Posted by FormerlyJohnnyBreadhead View Post
I think you're confusing Ukraine with Belarus. Ukraine has been at war with Russia (or at least Russian proxies) since 2014.

Ref. the draw - it seems strange that there's such an incentive throughout qualifying to get home advantage in the semis, and then for the final it all comes down to the luck of the draw.
Indeed. Whereas Russia has in recent years invaded Ukraine and illegally occupies the Crimea and an area of SE Ukraine (and threatens to further increase the land grab in the near future), it can be argued that such action is not required by Russia in the case of Belarus due to the influence/control it already has over it.