Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said that the Euro 2012 football Championship will take place in the country despite boycott threats by several European countries to protest against the alleged maltreatment of the former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
"I am confident that the European Championship will take place in Ukraine. Politics is politics, but life is life," Yanukovych told reporters Monday during the opening ceremony of the new terminal in Donetsk International Airport in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine shares the concern of the international community over the situation with Tymoshenko, Yanukovych said, adding that some European politicians' comments on this issue are "distressing" for the country, Xinhua reported.
Giving progress details on the Euro 2012 preparations, Yanukovych said Ukraine's infrastructure is completely ready to host the tournament, which starts June 8.
Tymoshenko, 51, Ukraine's main opposition leader, who is serving a seven-year sentence for corruption, claims she was assaulted by prison guards in jail in Kharkov city, one of the Euro 2012 venues.
Her reported maltreatment has sparked a number of calls for a boycott of Euro 2012, which Ukraine will co-host with Poland this summer.