Alexander Zinchenko (left) and his legendary compatriot Andriy Shevchenko perform at a charity football match for Ukraine. Photo: United24
Last Friday week, while driving to central London for this interview, Oleksandr Zinchenko spent most of his journey to Ukraine talking on the phone. He spoke to those affected by the catastrophic southern part of the country and heard about the horrors caused by the subsequent flood.
Minutes after those conversations ended, as he took his seat in front of a small group of journalists, these images were the focus of Zinchenko's attention. “The stories I heard,” he says. “Honestly guys. I can't even explain it.”
Volunteers in the area told Zinchenko about entire buildings being demolished, about hundreds of animals drowning in their cages at the zoo, and about thousands of people fighting for their lives. “I heard about a woman who was holding two babies who were born just a few months ago,” Zinchenko says, voice hoarse with grief. “She was with them on the roof, holding on to the last stone and trying to survive. Unfortunately, she did not do this with the children.”
These are the realities of the war, and Zinchenko does not want to hide from them. He also doesn't want the rest of us to hide from them. The Arsenal defender returned to Ukraine a few weeks ago – for the first time in two years he was able to do this –and he knows how important it is that the whole world continues to follow what is happening in his country.
“I know some people are tired of this war,” he says. “But my only message is that we must stick together. If you look at the map, unfortunately, Ukraine has such neighbors. UK is far away. But if it wasn't Ukraine, it would be a different country, right? Today it is Ukraine, but if we are not going to stop them, then your country may be next. The world must be united.
Andriy Shevchenko (left) and Oleksandr Zinchenko promote Game4Ukraine. Photo: United24
Since the Russian invasion in early 2022, Zinchenko has lived with an anger that will not subside. Returning home and personally witnessing the destruction intensified these emotions. For most of this interview, he held back tears.
“Seeing this situation from your phone, laptop, calls, messages… I was already shocked,” he says. “But we are human, and we are starting to get used to it. Fortunately or unfortunately, I don't know. But it’s a completely different thing when you see these destroyed buildings with your own eyes, and not on your phone.
“I can’t say that it wasn’t scary, but at the time you thought:“ Should I be afraid? Or just accept what is and just try to do something good to help people?”
“People ask me: “Why are you doing all this? You have a family to take care of.” But I have a daughter who is almost two years old, and I hope that I will have another child soon [his wife Vlada is pregnant].
“I just want to do something good. When they grow up, they will ask me: “Dad, when there was a war in our country, what did you do? How much did you help people? I want to look them in the eye and I want to say, “Your mom and I tried our best.”
In the days following the invasion, Zinchenko's instinctive impulse was to return home and join the fight. He said that if it were not for his young family in England, he would have left. But he has since admitted that he can do more to help the cause from afar, using his profile to spread the word and raise funds.
“After the invasion, I lost my head,” says the 26-year-old man. “But my family and I have talked about it a lot and we have to keep going. I can help much more from here than if I were there right now. But, I promise, I really want to be there, even now. This is my homeland. I will definitely live in Ukraine after football.”
Upon returning home, Zinchenko met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss a Game4Ukraine charity match to be held at Stamford Bridge in August. Zinchenko and Andriy Shevchenko, former striker of the Ukrainian national team, will take part in the match to raise money for the United24 initiative.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, pictured here with his child, says football was a refuge from the terrible events in Ukraine. Photo: Mark Atkins/Getty Images. Manchester City, but Zinchenko was allowed to play for a limited time.
The funds raised at the event will be used to restore a Ukrainian school in the Chernihiv region, almost completely destroyed by missiles. The area was occupied by Russian forces for 33 days, and during his visit, Zinchenko learned more about the suffering that had taken place there.
“We saw the damage to the school,” Zinchenko says. “There are 10 villages around this school, and all the children from these villages go there. I talked to the guys who study there. These were real, true stories. To be honest, I was shocked. You don't even see it in the movies. Children cannot lie. They just tell the real truth.”
One of the most frightening thoughts, according to Zinchenko, is the psychological impact of war on this generation of children. She and Shevchenko played football with the guys from school, and in these moments there was laughter and joy. As in the case of Zinchenko over the past 18 months, football gave a détente. “When I'm on the field, I start to forget about everything,” he says.
But these are temporary moments of respite, and Zinchenko is worried about the future. “It's one of the scariest things,” he says. “These are our children who grow up in Ukraine. It's a big, big trauma for all of them. Imagine that you are five years old and someone enters your house with a gun.
“When we played football together, they smiled and laughed. I hope that there will be more such moments in their lives, and they will try to forget about it, but, unfortunately, I think it will be so difficult.”
But there is hope, and for Zinchenko, too pride. He is prouder than ever to be Ukrainian and has seen firsthand how tirelessly his compatriots, including President Zelensky, are working and fighting.
“To look from the inside at this whole process, at the people around him [Zelensky], how they work, is simply incredible,” says Zinchenko. “They don't stop. I had a tough, tough schedule in Ukraine – driving, calling, talking. Next to me were people from the presidential apparatus, and I watched them. They don't seem to be tired at all.
“I asked them, 'Do you work like this every day?' They said, 'Yes, after the invasion.' I believe that with such energy, with such people, we have a bright future.”
p>Game4Ukraine will take place at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, August 5. Tickets are already on sale at game4ukraine.com Game4Ukraine will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky.
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