Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko issues passionate plea for world to avoid Ukraine war fatigue
Oleksandr Zinchenko used a press conference ahead of Arsenal's pre-season friendly with Manchester United to put out an impassioned plea for the world to avoid becoming fatigued with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Arsenal defender and former Chelsea forward Andriy Shevchenko will each be captaining a side in the Game4Ukraine at Stamford Bridge on August 5th in order to raise funds to help rebuild the Mykhailo-Kotsiubynsky Lyceum school in Chernihiv, which has been 90% destroyed. Tottenham Hotspur, meanwhile, will be hosting a friendly with Shakhtar Donetsk the day after in order to raise funds for Shakhtar’s charitable foundation, in support of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine as a result of the armed conflict with Russia. Speaking in New Jersey, Zinchenko emphasised the importance of events like these to keep morale high in Ukraine nearly 15 months after Russia began the invasion.
«It’s so important to make these kind of events,» the 26-year-old said. «Of course, for me it’s a shame to ask you guys to donate. I’m not saying this or asking this. Some can do it. Some maybe can’t because they have a lot of things to do.
»In London and just walking with my daughter, I see cars with kids and the other day I saw a family and their kids, maybe from Czech Republic, and the kid had no shirt on. He had a temporary tattoo on his shoulder with a temporary Ukrainian flag tattoo. It made me think, 'Wow these guys are with us.' This little thing means a lot for us. Being a Ukrainian I am so proud.
«Some people have fatigue from this war but we cannot give up. We need to fight for our freedom and independence because I couldn’t imagine in 2023 this could happen, the place where you were born and raised, and one day the other
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