Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk has agreed to play their home Champions League matches at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium, the club announced on Friday.

Shakhtar have at least four home games in the competition that starts in September but cannot play in Ukraine due to security concerns stemming from the ongoing Russian military invasion that began in February 2022. The arrangement is subject to regulatory approvals from UEFA.

"Our true home is Ukraine, and we all hope that very soon we will be able to play European football in front of our own fans again," Shakhtar said in a statement. "But while the war makes this impossible, Stamford Bridge is an exceptional place for us to call home in Europe."

The Ukrainian side has been unable to play in Donetsk since 2014 when conflict began in the Donbas region. Since 2022, they have hosted European matches in Poland, Germany and Slovenia. Chelsea's current squad includes former Shakhtar winger Mykhailo Mudryk, and the Blues did not qualify for any UEFA competition this season, avoiding fixture conflicts.