Oleksandr Zinchenko invited a 10-year-old budding footballer to come and train alongside him at Manchester City after being forced to flee war-torn Ukraine.
The left-back and Ukraine international took to Instagram to upload snaps of his day with young Andriy on Monday afternoon. The child is just one of millions who have been left with no choice but to leave their home country in the wake of Russia's invasion, which has been raging on since late-February.
According to the City star, Andriy has aspirations of becoming a professional football player much like Zinchenko. The 25-year-old Shakhtar Donetsk academy graduate is not the only Ukrainian currently plying his trade in the English top-flight. The Etihad favourite, alongside fellow countrymen Andriy Yarmolenko of West Ham and Vitalii Mykolenko of Everton, has called for peace in their home country.
Since the start of the invasion on February 24, all three have received heart-warming receptions from both their own supporters and rival fans up and down the country. Zinchenko let his social media followers know of his meeting with Andriy with a touching post.
"This is Andriy. He is 10 years old. Today he is already safe," the three-time Premier League winner wrote on Instagram. "Like most Ukrainians, he and his family were forced to flee their homes because of the war. Another 75 days ago, this boy dreamed of becoming a footballer and trained carefree with his team.
"Today he dreams of only one thing - peace in our country. About peace. About normal life at home. It hurts me a lot that because of the war in Russia, there are a lot of children like Andriy in Ukraine today. Deprived of childhood, and even worse - life.
"I believe that the day of our Ukrainian victory will come soon. And all children will be able to relive their carefree childhood, full of children's dreams and positive emotions, which today for a few minutes could feel Andriy at the training session."
Zinchenko is a mainstay in the Ukraine national side, who could still qualify for the World Cup in Qatar later this year in the face of extreme adversity. Emotions will undoubtedly be running high when they take on Scotland in a play-off clash next month.
If Andriy Shevchenko's side are successful against the Scots, they will face Wales in a second play-off game that will determine their place at Qatar in November.
