Arsenal London defender and Ukraine national team defender Oleksandr Zinchenko has spoken out about the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine, which has lasted for almost a year and a half.
Alexander Zinchenko"I could not even imagine that in our time it could happen that in the country where I was born and raised, another country would invade, destroy everything, kill children and do many other horrors. What is all this being done to achieve? That is the question.
Some people are tired of this war, but we can't give up! Because we are fighting for our freedom and independence. And we need to keep fighting.
I would like to appeal to those who are tired of the war: today it is Ukraine, and tomorrow it could be your country. That is why we must stick together and fight to the end.
I should take this opportunity to say that we need these F16s to regain our land, our territories. I would like to say thank you very much to the US and the rest of the world who are helping us a lot in this difficult moment.
Of course, I myself am constantly helping my country in any way I can. Since the invasion, it has become part of my life. Every day I live with my country and the people there with my heart. Me and my family try to help in any way we can. The upcoming charity match in London (5 August) is part of that.
My duty is to try and help as much as I can. I want that when my adult children ask me in the future, "Dad, what did you do when there was a war in our homeland?", I will be able to look them in the eye and say, "Your mum and I tried to do our best to help our country."
Of course, I use football, which is the best sport in the world, to represent our country in the best way possible. It is very important not just to raise money to build a school in Ukraine (all the money raised from the above mentioned charity match in London will be donated to the reconstruction of Mykhailo-Kotsyubynsky Lyceum in Chernihiv region - editor's note), but also to send a message to the rest of the world and to the Ukrainian people who continue to fight for their independence: "You are not alone, we are together and we have a lot of help".
Recently, while walking around London with my daughter, I saw a family (as it turned out, from the Czech Republic), and one of the children had a temporary tattoo of the Ukrainian flag on his shoulder. That little thing means a lot to us. I am proud to be Ukrainian!", - said Zinchenko during a press conference on the eve of the friendly match between Arsenal and Manchester United, which will be held today in the United States.
