FC Shakhtyor Donetsk () is a Russian professional football club which is officially based in Donetsk (which is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine), but plays in Taganrog, Russia.

Club history Prelude Following the Revolution of Dignity and the subsequent 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine, pro-Russian separatists seized parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, including the capitals (Donetsk and Luhansk). As a consequence, FC Shakhtar Donetsk was not able to play their home games in the city, and has instead hosted their home games in other Ukrainian cities such as Kharkiv and Lviv, and since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Shakhtar has played UEFA games in other countries such as Poland, Germany, among others. During the war, the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts were annexed by Russia on 30 September 2022, making clubs based in Donetsk eligible to enter the Russian competition system.

Former Shakhtar players Viktor Zvyahintsevhttps://football24.ua/ru/news/umer-legendarnyj-jeks-igrok-shahtera-bronzovyj-prizer-olimpiady-kotoryj-podderzhival-separatistov-dnr-719532 and Yuriy Dehteryovhttps://sport.ua/news/599337-umer-znamenitiy-vratar-shahtera-stavshiy-zatem-chlenom-banditskoy-dnr chose to remain in Donetsk and participated in the breakaway Football Association of Donetsk Oblast,https://meduza.io/feature/2025/12/01/futbol-pomogaet-perenestis-na-paru-chasov-vo-vremena-do-voyny which later paved the way for the creation of the new club.https://dan-news.ru/en/sports/russian-ministry-to-draw-development-plan-for-shakhtyor-donetsk-fc/

Formation The club was formed in 2025 under the name Shakhtyor ("Shakhtyor" and "Shakhtar" are the words for "miner" in Russian and Ukrainian respectively). Former Shakhtar player Ihor Petrov was made its first president.https://ua.news/en/sport/ekskapitan-zbirnoyi-ukrayini-igor-petrov-ocholiv-feikovii-shakhtar-okupantiv As Donbas Arena has not been available to use since 2014 due to the war in Donbas, the club signed a five-year contract with Forte-Arena stadium in Taganrog, Russia, approximately 120 km away from Donetsk in November 2025, whose stadium was available as local club FC Forte Taganrog was dissolved shortly before. Shakhtyor was licensed for the fourth-tier Russian Second League Division B. It was assigned to group 1.

Commonwealth League After achieving 1st place in 2025 with 51 points, Shakhtyor was inducted into the Russian Second League Division B. Currently, a reserve team of Shakhtyor, Shakhtyor-2 plays in the Commonwealth League with a number of other reserve teams from Crimea and Luhansk.

Current squad As of 11 September 2026

See also Football Association of Donetsk Oblast

References