13 June 2023 , 09:25
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“How can I help? What can I do? What can we send?”
Those three questions have been racing through the mind of proud Ukrainian Oleksandr Zinchenko since his home nation were the victims of the Russian invasion back in February 2022.
Throughout the attack on Ukraine, Zinchenko has used his platform to speak out against the horrors taking place in places where he “knows every single stone”, as he put it. More recently, the Arsenal ace has gone one better and organised ‘Game4Ukraine’ to help send a powerful message to the rest of the world.
Taking place at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge home on August 5, the 11-a-side charity match aims to raise money for the UNITED24 initiative and help rebuild vital infrastructure such as a school in the Chernihiv region which suffered huge damage as a result of Russian aggression.
Having just returned from his first trip back to Ukraine since the invasion last year, alongside fellow UNITED24 ambassador Andriy Shevchenko, some may wonder if that is why Zinchenko’s emotions currently run so high, but the four time Premier League winner told Mirror Football these are feelings he has had to deal with every day since his country came under attack.
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"Well, I am angry even now. Not just since the invasion, I am angry every single day because I really want to know what they are doing - to achieve what? To win what?"
Asked if he ever gets a break from such emotion, the 26-year-old glanced down at the floor and replied in an instant: “Oh please, please don’t get me in my head because I don’t know what is there at the moment. Honestly, it’s incredible.”
Oleksandr Zinchenko donned a yellow and blue captain's armband in honour of Ukraine for Arsenal last seasonFor someone still so young, Zinchenko talks with such unflinching honesty about issues that many sportspeople wouldn’t dare touch in fear of potential repercussions.
“I’ll be honest I’ve never been in this situation in my life - like all of us - no one could have expected this in 2022.”
He added: “A lot of questions in your head but you have to react so quickly. How can I help? What can I do? What can we send? Unfortunately or fortunately I’ve already got used to this routine since the invasion, my family as well. All of us Ukrainians.
“I see how much we are helping each other over there. If you are comparing our army that is staying on the hot front line taking a risk with their lives to defend our independence, our freedom - for them it's difficult. For me, it's impossible to compare.”
Maybe so, but Zinchenko deserves plenty of credit himself for his part in the organising of Game4Ukraine.
It would have been easy for the former Manchester City star to jet off to Dubai and sun himself silly until the start of the new season like so many do, but as he revealed with such eloquence, Zinchenko feels compelled to act so that he can tell his children both and wife Vlada did all they cold when their nation needed them most.
“People ask me ‘why do you do all this, you have a family to look after’. But I have a daughter who is nearly two and I hope I will have another baby soon and 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 I just want to say ‘me and your mum we were trying to do our best’ - that is what is in my head.”
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Oleksandr Zinchenko (left), President Zelensky (centre) and Andriy Shevchenko (right) proudly pose with Ukraine shirts ahead of Game4Ukraine (UNITED24)That’s why Zinchenko is at the forefront of the Game4Ukraine, which even has the President Zelensky seal of approval.
“I met our President. We spoke about the idea to organise this charity game, to help to rebuild one of the schools in the Chernihiv region, where I have been with Andriy Shevchenk,” the Gunners star continued.
“We have seen the damage to the school. I spoke to the kids who study at the school and some of them had seen the Russian army in their houses.”
Throughout the conversation it is clear that while Zinchenko feels a huge responsibility to keep people talking about the injustices Ukrainians are suffering, it is one he is comfortable taking on his shoulders.
Oleksandr Zinchenko recently returned to Ukraine for the first time since the invasionAlready a father after his first daughter was born in August 2021, the Zinchenkos are expecting another baby soon and the Arsenal star detailed how he’ll tackle the topic when asked about the invasion by his children in the future, the first of whom has spent plenty of time in Ukraine.
“She’s been to Ukraine a lot. Even now she’s over there. She’s nearly two and it’s difficult to explain anything to her right now. But for the future, I don’t know. I live my life that you always have to tell the truth. I will tell her the truth. That unfortunately we have bad neighbours and you just need to know about this.”
In the years that follow, his children will surely feel the same immense pride in what their father is helping to achieve in the face of such emotional hardship that so many around Zinchenko already do.
Oleksandr Zinchenko and Andriy Shevchenko are aiming to help raise enough funds to rebuild Mykhailo-Kotsyubinsky Lyceum (UNITED24)Game4Ukraine hopes to be a force for good and help the nation take another step in getting back on its feet.
Zinchenko discusses football with a similar level of raw passion and it is clear he wants the upcoming charity fixture in west London to be a sporting celebration of his nation, with the Ukraine captain waxing lyrical about what the game can do beyond the confines of the pitch.
“Football is my life and when I am on the pitch I am starting to forget about everything. That’s why I think today football is such a powerful opportunity to stick together, to be united, to send any messages you want, to have fun.
"I think football today is so powerful. Since the invasion my head was lost, but still me and my family were talking a lot about this and we have to keep going.”
Game4Ukraine will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky, with a free-to-stream option for those based in Ukraine.
Kick off is at 6:00pm on August 5 at Stamford Bridge.
Tickets are on sale now at game4ukraine.com