Arsenal midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko has said that he is prepared to drop his football career in order to fight for Ukraine in their war with Russia.
The 27-year old Ukrainian recently aired his feelings about whether or not he would become involved in the country’s full-scale war with Russia, which has been ongoing since 2014 and escalated in 2022 when Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.
Zinchenko has already donated £1,000,000 to aid his fellow countrymen in defending their land against the Russians, and has said he would be prepared to fight if called up.
The Arsenal man highlighted the fact that his school friends were already involved in the defence of his country and when asked if he would join them he replied “I think it’s a clear answer. I would go.”
He reflected on the situation in his home country by adding:
“It’s tough to understand that just recently we’ve been in the same school, we were playing in the playground or on the football pitch, and now they have to defend our country.”
“And honestly, it’s so hard to accept this, but it is what it is. We cannot give up.”
Zinchenko made these comments during an interview with the BBC, following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky highlighting the fact that Kyiv would need to find half a million more soldiers to keep heir war efforts up.
Zinchenko, who previously played with Russian side Ufa, as well as Man City before making his £30 million move to Arsenal in 2022, has also added that he no longer speaks to his Russian former teammates.
He did, however, state that he understands the difficulty of their position.
“Since the invasion, really few have texted me and sent some messages and I can’t blame them because this is not their fault. I cannot tell them, ‘Guys, do the protests outside and all these things’ because I know they can be in prison.”
“We will never forget what they have done to us, to our people. And that’s what I will teach my kids as well. And my kids will teach their kids. This is not acceptable.”
Ukraine’s efforts to boost their troop numbers in the war with Russia will now see the draft age of their soldiers reduced from 27 to 25 by President Zelensky with no end currently in sight for the conflict.
