Manchester City star Oleksandr Zinchenko has issued a heartfelt plea for help from the football community as Russia's invasion of his homeland Ukraine continues.
Zinchenko, 25, shared an appeal alongside several other Ukrainian footballers including West Ham's Andriy Yarmolenko. It comes days after the Man City defender and Ukrainian national team captain embraced Everton player and fellow countryman Vitaliy Mykolenko ahead of the 1-0 victory over the Toffees at the weekend.
The Ukrainian internationals spoke briefly with Zinchenko, who was present at a vigil outside Manchester's Central Library on Thursday evening, visibly upset.
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In the new video, various footballers shared one message saying: "We appeal to the football community. To everyone who is united by love for the game of football. Every fan, every player. Every coach, every manager. Everyone who understands and loves football.
"We appeal to you to explain to the whole world. To show every inhabitant of the planet. That under the cover of special operation, Russian troops are waging an open war against Ukraine. They are bombing residential areas, with missiles and shooting civilians. We appeal to everyone who hears us to resist this war. Stop the destruction and bloodshed.
"We ask the global football community to oppose Russian propaganda. To show and tell the truth about war in Ukraine by all possible resources. We thank everyone who has already done this and everyone who will support us. No to war. Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the heroes."
The global football community has taken a hard-line approach in condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. FIFA and UEFA have banned teams from Russia competing in international competitions including the upcoming Women's European Championships and Men's World Cup as well as domestic European competitions.
Football fans and players have pledged their support behind Ukraine too. Ukrainian flags could be seen held aloft at various matches across many leagues in Europe, while players such as Aston Villa's Matty Cash have celebrated goals with messages of support for Ukrainian team-mates on under-shirts.
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