Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko says he is willing to put his football career on hold in order to fight for Ukraine if his home country calls him up as part of their war effort.
The former Manchester City fullback has already donated £1million to his country’s cause as his homeland continues to resist the Russian invasion which began in 2022 and has seen several of his friends sign up to fight.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky recently said that Kyiv will need to mobilise another half a million soldiers in order to maintain the war effort.
“I think it’s a clear answer. I would go (to fight),” the 27-year-old told the BBC.
“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.
"I know maybe some people might think that it's much easier … for me being here [in London] rather than being there [in Ukraine]. I really hope that this war will end soon," he said.
Zinchenko began his professional career in Russia, spending two seasons with Russian Premier League side Ufa before joining Manchester City in 2016.
But since the invasion more than two years ago, he says he does not speak to any of his Russian former teammates, but understands the circumstances they find themselves in.
“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 (put) in prison.”
He also added: “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.”
President Zelensky signed a new law this week that brings down the military draft age from 27 to 25 in an effort to boost troop numbers. This law means that men can be drafted at 25, but not mobilised for the war.
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