Yaroslav Rakytskyi: "If I had known it would be like this, I would never have gone to play in Russia!"

Shakhtar defender Yaroslav Rakitskiy spoke about helping the wounded soldier and commented on his performances in the Russian championship.

- The other day, you posted on your Instagram page about a meeting with a wounded Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier, a Shakhtar fan. As far as we know, you will cover all the costs of the fighter's treatment. Can you tell us what the story is?

- Yes, the guy's name is Nikita. He was seriously injured and is now undergoing treatment. These heroes sacrifice themselves defending Ukraine. Thanks to them, we are alive and have the opportunity to play football. Therefore, I think my task, like all athletes and clubs, is to help our defenders. We met with him and talked a bit. We agreed that when the holidays begin, I will come back and talk to him in more detail. I would like to ask him a lot of questions, and I'm sure Nikita has questions for me as well. I never hide - I will answer them all. The main thing is that he recovers as soon as possible, gets back on his feet and returns to normal life.

- Sergei Palkin promised that in the near future you would give your own commentary on your performances in the Russian Championship from 2019 to 2022.

- I would say that I am, first and foremost, a footballer. Football is my job and my life's work. And in Russia, all I did was play football. And when the full-scale war began on 24 February 2022, I decided to terminate my contract and return to Ukraine on the same day. This act is my response. No one could have imagined the scale of the aggression: that Russians would kill Ukrainians by the thousands and destroy our cities. If I had known that this would happen, I would never have gone to play in Russia! Moreover, I believe that many people did not take it so hard until February 2022: look, Russia was hosting the World Cup, the Champions League final was to take place, many Ukrainians continued to live and work in Russia, and the countries traded with each other. But 24 February put everything in its place - in one day, everyone realised that we, the civilised world, have nothing in common with the Russian Federation. That is why I am here in Ukraine - together with my country, with my people. And this is my answer to all questions.