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While battles rage on near Dnipropetrovsk, Myron Markevych’s Dnipro side has had to travel 500km to play its European matches in Kiev.
Despite the hardship, Dnipro has scrapped and won its way through to the final, captivating the football world in the process.
Now it faces Sevilla, whose trouncing of Fiorentina in the semi-final has placed the Andalusian side as a strong favourite to lift the trophy for a second successive season.
Like no other sport, the link between identity and method in football facilitates its ability to bolster the morale of a nation.
Noticing the gulf in attendances at the Olympiyskiy Complex, from its qualification play-off against Hajduk Split to the semi-final against Napoli, can in itself provide ample perspective.
Initially, the multitude of empty, multi-coloured seats at the 70,000-capacity stadium provided a scene similar to those one might have seen at a Melbourne Heart fixture.
But a fortnight ago, there was a vastly different kind of colour palette. Ukraine flags were proudly held aloft in dreadful Kiev conditions as Dnipro withstood a late barrage from the heavens, and Napoli alike, on its way to the final.
Simultaneously, with the home support in full voice, the shirts and scarves were discarded in the relentless rain after Yevhen Seleznyov’s goal, providing as poignant a picture as the game can.
"These are hard times for our state and for us too. We are hoping our sporting achievement will inspire our heroes who are defending our country from the enemy," Dnipro defender Artem Fedetsky said this week.
"We know the whole of Ukraine will be with us at the stadium. We will be playing for them," Markevych added.
Aside from football’s perpetual links with identity and politics, the realm of the game’s unknown provides a separate intrigue.
Even since UEFA’s introduction of single match finals in this competition, the idea of what could have been remains prevalent.
If Rivaldo or Luis Enrique’s attempts had snuck into the net at Anfield in 2001, would we have seen arguably the greatest final in the tournament’s history?
Would Inter Milan crumble again to Schalke en route to the 1998 final if Diego Simeone had managed to flick the ball on, instead of allowing an unmarked Taribo West to retake the lead a minute into injury-time?
Would Zenit St. Petersburg have defeated Rangers in the 2008 final if Oliver Kahn’s brain hadn’t decided to mysteriously switch off in the semi-final for Bayern Munich?
As much as the Crimean conflict has been raised to provide context, Dnipro’s route from a sporting perspective alone garners interesting conjecture.
It’s a reflection of the fine margins that decide matters in sport, while in cup finals, they’re ever more significant.
Napoli was unquestionably dominant in the semi-final, and the players would have only themselves to blame for arguably not putting the tie beyond doubt in the first half at Stadio San Paolo.
The tie was taken out of their control with Seleznyov’s late equaliser, despite him being a good metre offside.
Memories from the Maracana last July were evoked when Gonzalo Higuain spurned a one-on-one early in the return leg, but a rugged and disciplined Dnipro side eventually found the breakthrough, again through Seleznyov.
It’s been a constant theme for Markevych’s side this European campaign, with Dnipro only just qualifying over Hajduk Split.
At 1-1 in Kiev after Nikola Kalinić’s equaliser, Hajduk was in control and looking for a second before Ivan Strinić got away with an unrepentant arm on Anton Maglica.
A penalty probably would have put the tie in Hajduk's hands heading back to Split, but a determined Dnipro somehow found a way as the visitors wilted, with Yevhen Shakhov scoring in the 88th minute.
From there they were able to defend their lead at the Poljud, but would we have witnessed such a gripping and tense journey if it went the other way?
After taking one point from the opening three games, to then qualify for the knockout stage and eventually account for Ajax on away goals, such situations would no doubt build an unwavering faith in the competitive cause.
“It is true, I would not be honest if I said we had planned to play in the final,” Markevych said in the lead-up.
“But you get more appetite when you start eating. When we won the game with Olympiakos (in the last 32) I started believing.”
For all the defensive qualities seen in the likes of Jaba Kankava and goalkeeper Denys Boyko, Dnipro possesses enough quality to take advantage of any opportunities provided, chiefly through Yevhen Konoplyanka and Ruslan Rotan.
While the final will undoubtedly be a contrast of styles, it’s not the backdrop of war that would perversely make for an enthralling contest.
In those 90 minutes at Stadion Narodowy, or maybe 120, everything else will stand still.
All that will matter is who will seize the opportunity when the match could go one way or the other.
