Ilya Karavashchenko

Illya Karavashchenko was born in Lutuhyne, Luhansk Oblast, and started out in Zorya Luhansk's own youth ranks before Shakhtar Donetsk took him into their academy. The move to Desna Chernihiv in 2020 did not bring the breakthrough he might have hoped for — he sat as third-choice goalkeeper and never made a senior appearance there, and a loan to VPK-Ahro Shevchenkivka the following season was cut short in October 2021 without a debut either. After the Russian invasion, Karavashchenko joined FSC Mariupol in 2022, and it was there, in May 2023, that he finally made his professional debut, in a Ukrainian First League defeat away to Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni. His time at Mariupol brought his most memorable moment to date: he played a key role in a Ukrainian Cup Round of 16 penalty shootout win over Kolos. Since leaving Mariupol in January 2025, his path has been unsettled. A short stint at Livyi Bereh Kyiv ended by mutual consent within six months, and a move to Kudrivka was interrupted by a loan to Lisne, where he made seven appearances before returning to Kudrivka. He signed for Zorya Luhansk — the club where his career began as a boy — in July 2026, and by early September had made one appearance apiece in the Ukrainian Premier League and the Ukrainian Cup. Karavashchenko has represented Ukraine at under-21 level but has yet to earn a senior cap.