The leader of the Ukrainian national football team, Oleksandr Zinchenko, gave an extensive interview to the English Daily Mail, in which he touched upon the topic of Russia's full-scale invasion. The 26-year-old defender recalled his time in Russia, when he played 31 matches for Ufa from 2015 to 2016.

"I am grateful to FC Ufa for everything they have done for me. But after the terrorist invasion, I don't want to have any memories of that time. To be honest, I don't want to hear anything about this country. Because every single day, Ukrainians die because of them, because of their bombs. I don't even want to mention the name [Russia]. I'll just say: 'terrorist country'," Oleksandr said.

Zinchenko refused to talk about Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I don't want to talk about him. This man is a total...", Zinchenko said.

Our footballer admitted that there is not a single person in Ukraine who has not lost something because of the war.

"This war has affected all of us, and since then our consciousness has completely changed. Unfortunately, we have become accustomed to war. However, we do not lose hope that everything will be fine in the near future," said the Arsenal player.

Zinchenko is confident that it is only thanks to the Ukrainian Armed Forces that he has the opportunity to play football.

"Thanks to our soldiers, we can still play football, still play for Ukraine. Of course, we understand the responsibility of representing the country at this level," the London club defender added.

Zinchenko is grateful to allies such as the UK who have shown solidarity.

"It's very difficult for us now, but without your support, I can't even imagine what would have happened. I remember the first month after the invasion, I was going to the shop and little children came up to me and said: 'We are all with you, we are praying for you. And we hope everything will be fine." They were only about 10 years old. For me, such things are more sensitive than any other events," Oleksandr summed up.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, on March 19, the reputable FourFourTwo publication put Zinchenko at the top of the ranking of the best left-backs in world football as of today. In the top 10, Oleksandr beat such stars as Theo Hernandez, Jordi Alba and Nuno Mendes.

Only verified information in our Telegram-channel Obozrevatel and Viber.Do not be fooled by fakes!