About

FC Shakhtyor Donetsk (Russian: ФК «Шахтёр» Донецк) is a Russian football club. It is officially registered as based in Donetsk (which is internationally recognized as part of Ukraine), but plays in Taganrog, Russia. Following the Revolution of Dignity and the subsequent 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine, the Ukrainian government did not maintain control over the city of Donetsk. As a consequence, the historical club FC Shakhtar Donetsk was not able to play their home games in the city, and played mostly in Lviv since, and in Poland for UEFA games. During the Russo-Ukrainian war, Donetsk oblast was annexed by Russia in 2022, making teams based in Donetsk eligible to enter the Russian football competition system. The club was formed in July 2025 under the name Shakhtyor ("Shakhtyor" and "Shakhtar" are the words for "miner" in Russian and Ukrainian languages respectively). As Donbas Arena was not available to use due to the continuing war, in November 2025 the club signed a five-year contract with Forte-Arena stadium in Taganrog, Russia (which is approximately 120 km away from Donetsk) which was available as their local club FC Forte Taganrog was dissolved shortly before that. For the 2026 season, Shakhtyor was licensed for the fourth-tier Russian Second League Division B. It was assigned to Group 1.