Oleksandr Zinchenko attends protest against Russian invasion of Ukraine in Manchester

Zinchenko was there alongside several other protestors in Manchester city centre

Manchester City defender and Ukrainian international Oleksandr Zinchenko was spotted attending a vigil in Manchester city centre on Thursday night to protest the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Zinchenko, who has been publicly active and voiced his opinions on the invasion in the last 72 hours, was joined by hundreds of others who joined together with several others to protest. https://twitter.com/karlathrelfall/status/1496925291956088835?s=21 As reported by the Manchester Evening News, several town halls - including St. Peter's Square where Zinchenko was - were lit up in the colours of the Ukrainian flag to show solidarity. In the early hours of Thursday morning, Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on multiple fronts, with 'hundreds' of Ukrainian troops reported to be dead. Explosions have been heard in several cities across the countries whilst video footage has also shown Russian military aircraft firing missiles through the sky and aiming for airports. On Thursday morning, Zinchenko claimed that Instagram had deleted his post about Vladimir Putin in which he said he hoped the Russian president would suffer the 'most painful suffering death.' It read: "I hope you die the most painful suffering death, creature." https://twitter.com/ZoryaLondonsk/status/1496773894350557187?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1496773894350557187%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.joe.co.uk%2Fnews%2Foleksandr-zinchenko-claims-instagram-deleted-his-post-telling-vladimir-putin-to-die-319148 The 25-year-old had previously stated on Tuesday that he 'can't stand back' while 'the whole civilised world is concerned about my country' as well as an emotional Instagram post. It read: "I can't stay back and strive to put my point across. In the photo - my country. The country where I was born and raised.

"A country whose colours I defend in the international sports arena. A country that we try to glorify and develop.

"A country whose borders must remain inviolable. My country belongs to Ukrainians and no one will ever be able to appropriate it. We will not give up! Glory to Ukraine."

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