The 2022–23 Ukrainian Premier League season, referred to as the VBet Liha for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd top-level football club competition since the

fall of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of Nationalities, Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. :s: ...

and the 15th since the establishment of the

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( ) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system. Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha ( , ) it was formed in 1991 during the 1992 in ...

. The defending champions were the 16-time winners

Dynamo Kyiv The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...

. The previous 2021–22 season was abandoned due to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. Although

Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk () is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club that was based in the city of Donetsk until 2014 when, due to the War in Donbas (2014–2022), War in Donbas, the club was forced to move to Lvi ...

were at the top of the table when the league was abandoned, no title was officially awarded ("The handing out of awards to the league's medalists will not take place"). The current season began on 23 August 2022 and ended on 3 June 2023. Shakhtar Donetsk were crowned champions for the 14th time in their history.

Preparation

War in Ukraine

Due to the full-scale invasion of Russia, teams were discussing the possibility of playing in

western Ukraine Western Ukraine or West Ukraine (, ) refers to the western territories of Ukraine. There is no universally accepted definition of the territory's boundaries, but the contemporary Ukrainian administrative regions ( oblasts) of Chernivtsi, I ...

as well as

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. On 27 May 2022, a conference was held in the House of Football involving participants of the Ukrainian Premier League along with the UAF presidium. Topics discussed at the conference included the continuation of the league, possible places and dates of conducting it as well as its format for the future season. On 25 June, the league's executive director, Yevhen Dykyi, explained that the season was expected to start on 20 August in the usual format with 16 participants. Later, the president of the

Ukrainian Association of Football The Ukrainian Football Association (, ; UAF) is the governing body of football (soccer), football in Ukraine. Before 2019, it was known as the Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU; ). As a subject of the International Olympic Movement, UAF is a me ...

clarified that the only teams allowed to play abroad would be those still in continental competitions, subject to their opponents' agreement. Some football functionaries criticised conducting the competitions due to risks of deliberate Russian missile attacks.

Official ball

PUMA Orbita Ball is official football ball of the 2022–23 Ukrainian Premier League, and the Puma brand became an official technical sponsor. It is the leading ball model, certified by FIFA, designed specifically for professional football. * The ball formed with high frequency technology provides excellent stability and reduced water absorption, as well as a soft ball feel. * New 12-panel concept: identical sized panels for a perfectly balanced weight and flight behavior. * Surface: 1.2mm thick 3D surface for greater durability and better aerodynamics. Innovative POE foam for strong grip, improved rebound performance and impact strength.

Teams

This season the Ukrainian Premier League has kept 16 teams, which includes 14 teams from the previous season and the top two teams from the

2021–22 Ukrainian First League The 2021–22 Ukrainian First League was the 31st since its establishment. The league competition consisted of 16 teams. Earlier in 2021 it was discussed to expand the league to 20 teams with discontinuation of the UPL U-21 competitions, but that ...

. Two teams had their status suspended due to the Russian occupation and/or destruction of their sports infrastructure.

Promoted teams

* Metalist Kharkiv – first-placed team of the

''(last competed in 2015–16)'' * Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih – second-placed team of the

''(last competed in

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

)'' **Note: both clubs were adopted by the Ukrainian Premier League as their predecessors despite the fact that both Metalist and Kryvbas were dissolved in 2016 and 2013 respectfully. The new Metalist was renamed from Metal Kharkiv in 2021, while the new Kryvbas was renamed from Hirnyk Kryvyi Rih in 2020.

Omitted teams

Mariupol Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius, Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the coun ...

– the 16th place team of the

2021–22 Ukrainian Premier League The 2021–22 Ukrainian Premier League season, referred to as the VBet Liha for sponsorship reasons, was the 31st top-level football club competition since the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, fall of the Soviet Union and the 14th since the establ ...

''(ending their five-year stay in the top-flight)'' * Desna Chernihiv – the 7th place team of the

''(ending their four-year stay in the top-flight)'' In case if one or both Desna and Mariupol decide to return to the league competitions next season, it is predetermined that the league team pool would be increased to 18 teams.

Location map

Stadiums

The minimum threshold for the stadium's capacity in the UPL is 4,500 (Article 10, paragraph 8.3). With the ongoing Russian aggression clubs were forced to relocate to western parts of the country with the

listed its certified stadiums for the season competitions. It was decided that the main regions in which permitted to conduct competitions are Kyiv city, Kyiv Oblast, Lviv Oblast and Zakarpattia Oblast.РЕГЛАМЕНТ Чемпіонату України з футболу серед команд клубів Української Прем’єр-Ліги сезону 2022/23
upl.ua A match could take place in other regions on permission of a regional military administration and agreement from the opposing club. The following stadiums are regarded as home grounds:

Personnel and sponsorship

''Notes:'' * On 22 April 2023 right after the Klasychne (Classic) rivalry with

Mircea Lucescu Mircea Lucescu (; born 29 July 1945) is a Romanian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, currently the head coach of the Romania national football team, Romania national team. He i ...

announced at press-conference that he is taking a sick leave and the team (Dynamo Kyiv) will be managed temporarily by

Oleksandr Shovkovskyi Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Shovkovskyi (; born 2 January 1975) is a Ukrainian former professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper, and is currently the manager of FC Dynamo Kyiv, Dyna ...

Managerial changes

League table

Results

Teams play each other twice on a home and away basis.

Matches affected by air alerts

Round 1.
Rukh vs Metalist. The match had been interrupted three times (in 44th, 51st, 77th minute).
Dnipro-1 vs Oleksandriya. The match, which kicked off on 23 November 2022, has been interrupted in the 10th minute, then resumed on 11 May 2023.
Round 5.
Veres vs Rukh. Kick off time was delayed for 30 minutes.
Lviv vs Dnipro-1. The match had been interrupted in the 55th minute.
Round 6.
Dynamo vs Rukh. The match had been interrupted in the 80th minute.
Round 7.
Metalist 1925 vs Lviv. Kick off time was delayed for 20 minutes.
Zorya vs Kolos. The match had been interrupted in the 59th minute.
Round 8.
Vorskla vs Rukh. The match had been interrupted in the 22nd minute.
Dnipro-1 vs Inhulets. The match had been interrupted in the 23rd minute.
Round 9.
Kryvbas vs Inhulets. The match had been interrupted in the 21st minute.
Kolos vs Chornomorets. Kick off time was delayed for 60 minutes.
Round 10.
Shakhtar vs Oleksandriya. The match had been interrupted in the 40th minute.
Round 11.
Oleksandriya vs Kolos. Kick off time was delayed for 20 minutes.
Round 12.
Kryvbas vs Vorskla. The match had been interrupted in the 3rd minute.
Kolos vs Dnipro-1. Kick off time was delayed for 120 minutes.
Round 13.
Vorskla vs Dnipro-1. Kick off time was delayed for 85 minutes.
Round 15.
Kryvbas vs Dnipro-1. The match had been interrupted in the 21st minute.
Round 16.
Oleksandriya vs Dnipro-1. The match had been interrupted in the 56th minute.
Round 18.
Vorskla vs Metalist 1925. The match had been interrupted in the 76th minute.
Round 20.
Kryvbas vs Zorya. The match had been interrupted in the 55th minute.
Round 22.
Kryvbas vs Chornomorets. The match had been interrupted in the 31st minute.
Oleksandriya vs Inhulets. The match had been interrupted in the 21st minute.
Round 24.
Zorya vs Veres. The match had been interrupted in the 71st minute.
Vorskla vs Dynamo. The match had been interrupted in the 82nd minute.
Round 25.
Kryvbas vs Dynamo. Kick off time was delayed for 15 minutes.
Round 27.
Oleksandriya vs Dynamo. The match had been interrupted in the 75th minute.
Round 28.
Kolos vs Dynamo. Kick off time was delayed for 40 minutes.
Round 30.
Vorskla vs Shakhtar. Kick off time was delayed for 20 minutes.

Relegation play-offs

Teams that placed 13th and 14th in the 2022–23 Ukrainian Premier League play two-leg play-off with the third and fourth teams of the

2022–23 Ukrainian First League The 2022–23 Ukrainian First League was the 32nd since its establishment. The league competition consisted of 16 teams. The competition took place during the ongoing war with the Russia since late February 2022. It was decided to conduct competit ...

. The draw for play-offs took place on 2 June 2023 and the games will be played on 10 and 14 June 2023. If players of the clubs would be called to the national teams, games will be moved to June 8 and 12.

First leg

----

Second leg

''LNZ Cherkasy won 3–2 on aggregate and were promoted to the UPL; Inhulets were relegated to the First League'' ---- ''Veres Rivne won 6–2 on aggregrate and both teams remained in their respective divisions''

Season statistics

Top goalscorers

Assists

Clean sheets

Awards

Monthly awards

Round awards

Notes

References

External links

Official website
of the

The season's calendar planner

(MS spreadsheet)
The season's calendar planner

. (pdf format) {{DEFAULTSORT:2022-23 Ukrainian Premier League Ukrainian Premier League seasons 1

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Sports events affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine Wartime seasons in Ukrainian football