Shakhtar Donetsk announced the signing of Georgian defender Irakli Azarov. According to the Pitmen's official website, the agreement with the 21-year-old player is calculated until June 30, 2028. Azarov moved to Shakhtar from Serbian Red Star. Transfer amount not disclosed. Irakli is a graduate of the Dinamo Tbilisi Academy, for the first team of which he made his debut at the age of 17 and played 14 matches (3 assists). In January 2021, he moved to Dynamo (Batumi), where he immediately became a base player and played 65 matches in a year and a half (4 goals, 10 assists). Since the 2022/23 season, he has played for Red Star Belgrade (26 matches, 3 assists). Azarov is the champion of Georgia (2019, 2020, 2021) and the champion of Serbia (2023). Since 2017, he has been regularly called up to the junior and youth teams of his country, for which he played 38 fights.. Together with the Georgian national team (U-21) he was a participant in the youth Euro 2023. Since 2021, Azarov has been regularly called up to the adult national team of Georgia, for which he has already managed to play 12 matches. Earlier, the Pitmen signed Ecuadorian midfielder Danil Castillo, Brazilian defender Pedrinho Azevedo, Brazilian winger Neverton, Israeli defender Stav Lemkin, Brazilian midfielder Eginaldo and Ukrainian defender Dmytro Chygrynskyy. Recall that Shakhtar, as the champion of Ukraine, automatically entered the group stage of the Champions League-2023/24. The Donetsk club will recognize its rivals in the main draw of the main European Cup during the draw on August 31.