Man City Star Oleksandr Zinchenko Opens up On What Stopped Him from Returning to Ukraine to Fight

• Zinchenko said he wanted to go back to his home country to join the fight against Russian forces
• The 25-year old however added that his family convinced him to stay in England
• Ukraine has been under severe attack from Russia for over a week, with a million Ukrainians reportedly fleeing the country
• Zinchenko expressed the need for the war to stop, but added that his country was not going to give up

Manchester City midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko recently admitted he wanted to go to help his home country Ukraine, but his family stopped him.

About a million Ukrainians have fled to safety, mostly outside the country, since Russia began its invasion a week ago.

Zinchenko only learnt of the invasion through a phone call from his wife Vlada last week.

Regardless, the 25-year old has kept his professionalism and continued training with his Manchester City team.

He was recently named captain for his side during the midweek FA Cup clash against Peterborough in what was a noble gesture from Manchester City.

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“I’m crying”

In a brutally raw interview for the first time about the raging war in his homeland, Zinchenko admitted he had thoughts of going back to fight for his country.

“I'm just crying. It’s already [been] a week - I'm not counting - but even when I drive the car from the training ground, I can just cry from nothing,” He told Gary Lineker in an interview with BBC Sport.

He added: “I'll be honest, if not for my daughter, my family, I would be there,”

“It's everything in my head. Imagine the place where you were born, where you were growing up and there is just empty ground.

“I can show you one million pictures and videos of every city in my country which they destroyed,”

Ukraine has received immense support from the international community since the invasion began, with Russian companies and individuals being slapped with sanctions across the world.

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Zinchenko reiterated that his countrymen would not give up in the fight to repel Russia.

"I know the people, the mentality of my people from my country, they prefer to die, and they will die. But they're not going to give [up]."

Zinchenko hits back at Artem Dzyuba

Recently, the Manchester City star sent a lengthy social media message disagreeing with Russia striker Artem Dzyuba.

Dzyuba was critical of the war in Ukraine, but also questioned the double standards of the international community to ‘punish’ Russian athletes.

In the interview with Lineker, Zinchenko said he was a bit disappointed by Russian footballers.

"I was surprised that no-one, not one of them, from all of them [has said anything],”

"Most of them play in the national team and they have a lot of followers on Instagram, Facebook, wherever.