Junior Moraes: "We need to stop Russia, or tomorrow it will be our turn"

Former player of Kyiv "Dynamo", Donetsk "Shakhtar" and the Ukraine national football team Junior Moraes spoke thoroughly on the topic of the war of "ro**ia" against Ukraine.

Since Moraes left Ukraine at the very beginning of the war and returned to his homeland, Brazil, he has been one of the most active supporters of ending the war. The player also donated about 50 thousand euros to support the victims of the aggressor.

“I postponed my personal project to dedicate myself to a more serious matter — to support peace in Ukraine.

There is no need to talk about peace itself: the only thing Ukraine wants is to be able to live in peace again. Ukraine has never invaded Russian territory and has never shown any disrespect to anyone. Ukraine just wants to live freely.

Achieving peace in Ukraine should be in the interest of all countries, there should be a major mobilization. Today there is no place for war. And if we do not stop Russia, then we will be next — tomorrow war, invasion will threaten other countries. Ukraine also thought it was a free country, and suddenly found itself in such a situation. Therefore, a universal call for peace is extremely important; it is necessary for everyone to understand the seriousness of the situation.

I communicate with people living in Ukraine every day. And it is very sad; the stories are very heavy. Leaving for work, you leave your children at school, but you do not know if you will see them again, as any school can be hit by a Russian missile during another shelling. Every day I receive messages about the deaths of friends, about people who barely managed to escape, suffering lifelong injuries.

If we talk about the trauma this war will bring to those who are experiencing it now and to future generations, it is incredibly serious.

The most effective way to help Ukraine for me and for other athletes is to promote peace. I have great relationships with this country, the government, and the people, and I strive every day to contribute as much as possible to put an end to this atrocity, which is war.

How did the war catch me? I woke up at 5 a.m. on February 24, 2022, from shelling and explosions near my apartment. Through the bedroom window, I saw strong flashes. I was very scared, and then my house also started shaking. What to do? Go outside to get hit by a missile? Or stay in the apartment where a bomb could also fall? These were days of tension and panic, scenes from movies about the end of the world.

Then there was a race against time for 41 of us — Brazilian footballers and their families who came together to try to get to Brazil. There were infants, older children, and elderly people. It was very cold; it was winter, food was scarce, and there was a risk of running out of water and communication.

When I finally found myself with my family in Brazil, I spent four days without sleep trying to figure out what the way out of all this might be. Then I started having nightmares about my son in the war, about a rocket falling near us, and about me running for help with my unconscious son in my arms. Many times I woke up in the middle of the night. Sometimes in tears, on a bed that was soaked in my sweat. Since then, I have not been able to really sleep without sleeping pills," said Moraes to Diretta.

Translation and stylistic adaptation — Dynamo.kiev.ua, when using the material hyperlink is mandatory!