Former Liverpool striker Andriy Voronin has left his job as assistant coach at Dynamo Moscow and moved away from Russia after Vladimir Putin sanctioned an invasion of Ukraine.
Voronin, who was born in Odessa, made 74 appearances for his country as a footballer - and has said he would fight in the war, if he was in his homeland.
The 42-year-old left Russia with his wife and children as well as his father and mother-in-law, after Vladimir Putin began an invasion of Ukraine last Thursday.
Having played for Dynamo Moscow as a player and held a coaching position since 2020, Voronin said: "I could no longer work in the country that is bombing my homeland."
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“I've been unwell for four days. Really bad. When I see all the pictures from my homeland, when I see the news. It's all as unreal as a movie,” he told German outlet Bild . “But a horror film. I hardly have any words left."
Voronin was able to leave Russia for Germany with his family and he said he is “grateful” to the people of Berlin for demonstrating against the war, having played in the country throughout his career.
Dynamo Moscow confirmed his departure on Tuesday morning and the ex- Reds striker said he had received messages of support from around the world since the crisis began.
Voronin said: “My thoughts and my heart are in Ukraine. I have friends in Kharkov, in Kyiv, in my hometown of Odessa. I get messages every five minutes. It's hard to bear. I just want to help. With money. Whatever.
“And I don't know if I should say it: But if I were in Ukraine right now, I'd probably have a gun in my hand too."
On Tuesday, the Russian defence ministry sent a warning that it was preparing to strike targets in Kyiv, while Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv was also subjected to explosions.
However, Voronin directed his anger directly at President Putin and not the Russian people.
“I and many other Ukrainians have friends in Russia. And they have friends, relatives with us. And then they attack us, Putin attacks my country,” he continued.
“So many people have died already. They are children of mothers - Ukrainian and Russian. Except that nobody in Russia finds out about it. It's not shown on TV there.
“Ninety percent don't even know what's happening. Putin [doesn't] care about the people. It harms not only us, but also the Russian people.”
When asked what Germany could do to help Ukraine, Voronin said: “Stop Putin, help the refugees. And send weapons so we can defend ourselves.
“I'm so proud of our country. We have beautiful cities, great people. We will keep fighting. And we will win.
“But the price is so high. All the dead...we live in the year 2022 and not in WWII".
