Earlier this week, six Shakhtar Donetsk players went AWOL after a friendly in France. The five Brazilians and one Argentinean had concerns about their safety and that of their families.
Although the club warned that the players faced punishment if they refused to return, their fears are understandable in the wake of the shooting down of flight MH17.
While one Shakhtar player, Fred, has returned and defender Ismaily is expected back soon, the Ukrainian Premier League has been thrown into disarray.
With the new league season set to kick off this Saturday, the top flight's clubs have had to undergo change in order to minimize the effects of the conflict.
Shakhtar and local rivals Metalurh Donetsk will not be able to play their home games in the Eastern city of Donetsk due to the conflict. Thus, both clubs will be playing in Lviv during 2014/15 - a city in the far west of Ukraine close to the Polish border. Almost 1,000 kilometres from Donetsk, Shakhtar has already spoken about the disadvantage in terms of reduced fan support, while players and staff will be based in Kiev which is midway between Lviv and Donetsk.
Another Donetsk club - newly promoted Olimpik - are also unable to play in their home city, with their matches arranged in Kiev's Obolon Arena.
Meanwhile Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, a club who took on Tottenham in the Europa League last season, also had next week's Champions League qualifier first leg against FC Kobenhavn relocated to Kiev, despite the fact that the city had initially been approved by UEFA. FC Zorya Luhansk, from the Russian border area, have also had to move away to a neutral venue.
The Ukrainian league had already felt the impact of the conflict between Russian separatists and the state last season.
After Russia annexed Crimea, two clubs from that region ceased to exist midway through the season, although both Tavriya Simferopol and Sevastopol both applied for licences to join the Russian Premier League.
With the conflict showing no signs of abating, 2009 UEFA Cup winners Shakhtar, in particular, will be concerned about the future, having started to make an impact on the European stage.
