ARSENAL footballer Oleksandr Zinchenko is struggling to keep his emotions in check as he wrestles with the enormity of the horrors being inflicted on his homeland.
The 26-year-old captain of Ukraine’s national side has not long returned from a visit to a school almost entirely destroyed by Russian missiles.
7Oleksandr Zinchenko said: ‘This game is not just to raise funds, it is also to show the world we stick together, we are united’Credit: Getty
7Alex and Andriy Shevchenko at the destroyed school during a recent trip to Ukraine
7Alex and Andriy with their team shirts and President Zelensky during their visit to their countryCredit: Instagram @u24.gov.ua
7Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will manage Alex’s teamCredit: Getty
Pupils told him how President Vladimir Putin’s troops had raped and pillaged after marching into their homes.
Oleksandr, known as Alex, was in tears during the warm up before his first match following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Alex continues: “We have seen the damage to this school. I spoke with the kids who study in this school and some of them saw Russian army in their houses, because they were so close to Chernihiv.
“Some of them were stealing, some of them were doing the other stuff, which I don’t really want to speak about. Honestly, I was in shock because kids, they cannot lie.”
He recognises the long-term impact on the mental health of Ukraine’s youth, some of whom are already displaying signs of PTSD.
7Team Zinchenko play Team Shevchenko on August 5 at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge ground in West London
Alex adds: “I understand this is a big, big mental injury for them, living in war time.
“Imagine you are five, six, seven years old and someone comes to your house with the guns, this is already mental torture.”
But he also sees the positive power of the beautiful game.
Alex and Andriy, who played for AC Milan and Chelsea, had a kickabout with the kids during their visit.
The football team, once one of the best in Europe, were not able to give him game time due to the upheaval and his parents took him to what they thought would be the safety of Russia.
In 2016 he was snapped up by Manchester City, where he won four Premier League titles.
Alex was part of manager Pep Guardiola’s side when Putin expanded his attack to the whole of Ukraine in February 2022.
7Alex and Andriy visited Mykhailo-Kotsyubinsky Lyceum in Chernihiv OblastCredit: Instagram @u24.gov.ua
7The devastated Northern Saltivka residential area of KharkivCredit: Doug Seeburg
He moved to Arsenal last summer for £32million.
Alex has been lifted by the backing of the British people.
He said: “After one week of the invasion, kids in Manchester came to me and they said, ‘Alex, we are all with you, with your people’. They were ten years old, they really understood.”
But Alex cannot understand why Putin started this bloody war, in which more than 60,000 Russian and Ukrainian forces are estimated to have been killed.
Throughout the interview he puts his hands together and stretches, as if his whole being is straining to comprehend this outrage against humanity.
He is supposed to be talking about football, but the only thing on his mind are the atrocities being carried out by what he describes as “Russian terrorists”.
There are many questions, including: “For what? They came to our land, to occupy?
Alex also asks why Putin’s forces drop missiles on civilian targets or why they destroyed a dam last week, leading to the flooding of 29 towns and villages.
But he has great faith in the inspirational President Volodymyr Zelensky, who the footballer met during his recent trip.
Alex declares: “We are independent, we have our president, we have our people.”
He is grateful for the military aid being offered by PM Rishi Sunak, saying: “I would like to say to the Prime Minister massive thanks for the help we have received.”
That solidarity is vital to the ongoing effort of the Ukrainian people to assert their right to freedom.
Game4Ukraine will help to spread the message of unity.
