Andriy Yarmolenko flew to save his family from the Ukrainian border, reveals Andriy Shevchenko

West Ham United striker Andriy Yarmolenko flew to the border with Ukraine to save his wife and child after they fled the country. Russiabrutal invasion, says national team legend Andriy Shevchenko.

A week has passed since then Vladimir Putin launched a Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine, heavily shelling many cities and claiming the lives of more than 2,000 civilians, while the UN reported that more than half a million people had fled their homes across the country.

Yarmolenko, the third-largest player of all time in his country, was allowed a sympathetic leave by West Ham on Sunday and therefore missed the win over the Wolves, but all of his teammates they wore T-shirts with his name on their backs while warming up.

And when the 32-year-old is now taking leave, Shevchenko revealed that the actor’s wife and child fled the country and crossed the Ukrainian border into Poland, where Yarmolenko flew to meet and pick them up.

“Sport has incredible power to change the world and it does,” Shevchenko told Sky Sports. “It’s amazing when Everton supports [Vitaliy] Mykolenko, when cheering for Manchester City [Oleksandr] Zinchenko.

“Yarmolenko also got his situation … his wife was in Ukraine with one of his children, she has just crossed the border – she is now in Poland.

“Andrew, I think he’s flying to Poland for a wife now. I’m not sure, but I know his wife, I think she’s across the border now and she’s probably coming here.

“I know how difficult it is for him – when his family is there, it’s a stressful time.

‘I can’t concentrate at all. I just watch the news a little bit, what’s going on. I can’t even watch a football match. ‘

Shevchenko also revealed that he is considering returning to Ukraine to join his compatriots in defending Ukraine and fighting the invasion, but the football icon believes his current platform could be used to gain support for Ukraine.

Shevchenko, whose mother and sister decided to stay in Kiev, torn apart by the war, added: “I am so proud to be Ukrainian. This is a very difficult time for my country, my people, my family. My mother and sister they are currently in Kiev and terrible things have happened there: people are dying, children are dying, rockets are pointing at our houses.

“We have to stop this war, we have to find a way to stop the war. We have refugees, we need humanitarian aid. We need medical help, food. It seems to me that I can do a lot here and I will do it.

‘I tried [to convince my family to leave] I have talked to them many times, but the answer is no. They want to stay there. It is the Ukrainian spirit.

‘Football no longer exists for me. i don’t think about it. There is no time for that. I don’t watch anything, no sports, nothing.

“All my concentration when I wake up is thinking about how I can help my country, what I can do. I started calling my parents, friends, receiving notifications about what was happening in Ukraine. For me, this is my area, this is my concentration now. ‘

Jarmolenko was supposed to be in the country on Wednesday when he filmed a a video in which he hit the Russian national football team for silence, while also targeting national team captain Artem Dzyubo.

In a message posted on his social media, naming a number of players, including Russian captain Artem Dzyuba, Atalanta’s Alexei Miranchuk and Valencian Denis Cheryshev, Yarmolenko called on Russian players to come together and “show their eggs in real life” on video , which leaked to the public in 2020, to show Dzyuba how he masturbates.

“I’m Andriy Yarmolenko, the Ukrainian national team player, I was born in St. Petersburg and I grew up in Ukraine and I consider myself a 100% Ukrainian,” Yarmolenko said in a video on Instagram.

“I have a question for Russian actors. Guys, why do you sit like crazy and say nothing? In my country they kill people, they kill women, they kill mothers, they kill our children. But you don’t say anything, you don’t comment.

“Please tell me what will happen if you all come together, united, to show people what is really going on in my country. I know many of you, I know many of you, and you have all told me that “this should not be the case”, that your President is doing the wrong thing.

‘So guys, you have an impact on people, show it, please, please! I know some people like to show their eggs in front of the camera, but now it’s time to show your eggs in real life.

‘Thank you for your attention! Glory to Ukraine. ‘

Video Dzyuba aroused angerwho accused Jarmolenko of ‘sitting on his ass in his English mansion’ and of being ‘disgusting’.

And while Yarmolenko flew to Poland to pick up his family, he supposedly made a lot of money A donation of £ 75,000 to his country’s armed forces.

West Ham coach David Moyes has revealed that the player coached on Monday but is willing to give him as much time as he needs.

“Andriy Yarmolenko came back and did a light training yesterday. I had a good chat with him,” Moyes told reporters on Tuesday.

He is obviously very upset about the whole situation, as many people are mostly from Ukraine, so we will not overtake him.

“I asked him to come today and see how he was feeling. If he feels good and can handle it, he will travel with the team. If he doesn’t, we’ll give him a few more days off. ‘

Yarmolenko and other Ukrainian players, including Manchester City defender Alexander Zinchenko, called on the football world to speak out against the invasion, which Russia calls a “special military operation”, in a video posted on social media on Tuesday.

“Today is the sixth day of the war. Civilians are dying. Houses and squares are disappearing, but our faith in victory is not, “Yarmolenko said in a caption to the video.

The World Football Association (FIFA) and its European counterpart UEFA excluded Russian national teams and clubs from international football until further notice on Monday.