Half an hour in Oleksandr Zinchenko’s company is a harrowing experience. The Ukrainian spends most of the conversation blinking back tears and he speaks with raw, unbridled passion about the horrors being inflicted on his country by Russia.
“I am angry even now,” the Arsenal player says. “I am angry every single day because I really want to know what they are doing – to achieve what? To win what?
“I hope this war is going to finish soon and in the end you’re just going to think: ‘Wow, how many people have been killed? How many people have lost one of their circle? How many people lost their houses, jobs or whatever – and for what?’ I just really want to know.”
Barely a moment goes by when Zinchenko does not find himself thinking about the invasion. He is in London, a long way from the conflict, but there is no escape from the mental trauma of knowing bombs are raining down on your compatriots every day. Zinchenko sees the images on the news, scrolls through social media, and the sorrow threatens to consume him. The shocking destruction of the Kakhovka dam is the latest devastating blow.
“I was talking to some of the volunteers helping around there,” he says. “The stories I heard … Some people don’t have the opportunity to leave their houses because the water is so high already. Some don’t have an opportunity to go because they are quite old. I heard about one woman, holding two little babies, born just a few months ago. She was on the roof, holding the last stone and trying to survive. Unfortunately, she didn’t. With the kids.”
Zinchenko turns away after being asked how he copes. “Oh please,” he says. “Please don’t get in my head because I don’t know what is there at the moment.”
Somehow, he and other Ukrainians are still managing to resist. Zinchenko will not be silenced. He has just visited Ukraine with the former Chelsea and Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko and met the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to discuss the creation of Game4Ukraine, an 11-a-side charity match that will raise funds to rebuild Mykhailo-Kotsiubynsky Lyceum, a school in the Chernihiv oblast destroyed by Russian missiles. “We have to move forward,” Zinchenko says.
Shevchenko and Zinchenko are ambassadors for United24, the fundraising operation set up by Zelenskiy, and the hope is that football will bring people together. Game4Ukraine will be held at Stamford Bridge on 5 August, Arsène Wenger will coach one of the teams and talent from sport and entertainment will be involved. “This game is so important,” Zinchenko says. “Apart from the money we are trying to get to rebuild the school, it’s also a powerful message to the world that we are all together.”
Zinchenko, who brightens up when he thinks of his two-year-old daughter, is asked how he deals with the pressure of playing Premier League football. “I have to,” he says. “We have to work. Our heroes are losing their lives.
“There is someone who is abroad, representing the country in the best way they can, using this kind of opportunity like we are now. They talk about the situation. It’s important to keep going, to keep showing the world the real truth, because a lot of propaganda is around. I know everyone has some fatigue but I cannot stop.
“Football is my life and when I am on the pitch I start to forget about everything. Football is such a powerful opportunity to stick together, to have fun. Since the invasion my head was lost, but me and my family were talking a lot about this and we have to keep going.
“I can help my country much more from here than if I would be there at the moment. But I promise I really want to be there. Last week, when I arrived there … I don’t know, this is my homeland. I just want to be there. For sure, after football, I am going to live in Ukraine.”
Zinchenko marvels at Zelenskiy. “I am so proud of my president. The things he does are incredible. Watching the process from the inside, the people around him, how they work is unbelievable. They don’t stop. They. Don’t. Stop.
“I had a tough, tough schedule in Ukraine. Close to me were people from the president’s office and I was watching them. It looked like they weren’t tired at all. I asked them if they were working in this routine every day. They said: ‘Since the invasion, yes.’ I believe with this energy, with these people, we have a bright future.”
The promise of a better tomorrow sustains Zinchenko, who appreciates the support of the British public. He remembers being in a shop in Manchester and two kids coming up to him. “Maybe 10 years old,” he says. “I thought they just wanted a picture but they said: ‘Alex, we are all with you and your people.’ I was shocked. Ten years old? They really understand. That means their parents talk in the same way.”
One day the former Manchester City player will tell his daughter about Russia’s aggression. When he was in Ukraine he met children who studied at the school in Chernihiv and heard about their suffering. “Kids cannot lie,” he says. “They are just talking the real truth.” There is no filter. “This is one of the most scary things: our kids growing up in Ukraine. This is a big mental injury for them. Living in wartime, this is the most scary thing that can happen for all parents.”
Did Zinchenko see any joy in the children? “Well, most of them love football. When we were playing football, me and Shevchenko with them, they were smiling, laughing and really enjoying the process. I hope they will get more moments like this in their lives and try to forget. But unfortunately it will be so difficult.”
Going back to Ukraine has made Zinchenko even more determined. “The invasion was one and a half years ago,” he says. “Seeing this situation from your phone, laptop, calls, messages, I was already in shock. But we are human beings and we are starting to get used to it. We are starting to get used to the routine but it’s a completely different story when you see these destroyed buildings with your own eyes rather than your phone.
“This is completely different. I can’t say it wasn’t scary. You’re thinking: ‘Should I be scared or just accept that it is what it is and just try to do something good to help?’ People ask me: ‘Why do you do all this? You have a family to look after.’ But I have a daughter and I hope I will have another baby soon.
“I just want to do something good so when they grow up they will ask me: ‘Daddy, when this war was in our country what did you do, how much did you help people?’ I just want to look at my babies’ eyes and say: ‘Me and your mum, we were trying to do our best.’ That is what is in my head.”
• Game4Ukraine will take place at 6pm BST at Stamford Bridge on 5 August, with tickets available at www.game4ukraine.com. It will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky and will be free to stream for people in Ukraine.
