Arsenal full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko has stated that he would willingly return to Ukraine to defend his country if called upon.
The 27-year-old has already made a substantial donation of £1 million ($1.26 million) to aid those affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Asked by BBC’s Newsnight whether he would answer a call-up, Zinchenko said: “I think it’s a clear answer. I would go.”
He said several of his former school friends had already joined the Ukrainian military.
“It’s tough to understand that just recently we’ve been in the same school, we were playing in the playground or on the football pitch, and now they have to defend our country,” he said. “Honestly, [it’s] so hard to accept this, but it is what it is. We cannot give up.”
This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a bill reducing the mobilisation age for combat duty to 25 from 27.
Zinchenko initially launched his career in Russia with Ufa before transferring to Manchester City in 2016, where he secured four Premier League titles. His move to Arsenal in July 2022 came with a transfer fee estimated at around £35 million.
Additionally, Zinchenko mentioned that he maintains minimal contact with his former Russian teammates.
“Since the invasion really few [have] texted me and sent me some messages and I can’t blame them because this is not their fault,” he said. “I cannot tell them, ‘Guys, do the protests outside and all these things’, because I know they can be [put] in prison.”