‘I don’t sleep at all. My mother calls me, she hears gunshots’
Ukrainian footballer Vasyl Kravets has admitted that he is willing to put his career on hold to go to war for Ukraine against Russia.
Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered his military forces to invade Ukraine on Thursday on multiple fronts, with tanks moving across the border and ‘hundreds’ of Ukrainian troops reportedly dead.
Several of the Premier League’s Ukrainian players have voiced their anguish about the situation on social media, including Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko, Everton’s Vitalii Mykolenko and West Ham’s Andriy Yarmolenko.
Sporting Gijon defender Vasyl Kravets has since been excused from training, and recently gave a harrowing interview in which he condemned the situation in his native Ukraine.
The left-back, who has been capped by Ukraine up to Under-21 level, plies his trade in Spain and has spent time in La Liga with parent club Leganes.
However, the 24-year-old has claimed that he is willing to put his football career on hold to fight for his country.
WOW 👏🇺🇦@RealSporting LB Vasyl Kravets is on his way to Ukraine to join the war effort according to the head of Gijon’s Ultras!
— Zorya Londonsk (@ZoryaLondonsk) February 25, 2022
During an interview with Radio Marca, he said: “They are killing people, civilians, in hospitals… it’s all Putin’s fault, I don’t want to say it’s Russia’s fault, but Putin’s.
“We are a country that wants to live in peace. We don’t want to attack anyone, we want to live well and calm.”
Kravets also insisted that while he was opposed to violence and has no experience in handling weaponry, he would be willing to return to Ukraine to help his country.
“I tell the truth: I want to go to war and help my people,” he added.
“But I can’t help because I don’t know how to shoot, how to move, how to reload a gun…but the truth is that I want to help.
“If I could go, I would – to defend my country. It is obligatory for the heart of Ukrainians.”
“Almost all our airports are blocked. If my country needs everyone to defend our country, I’m leaving. I’ll talk to Sporting and I’ll leave.”
This is the latest story of @RealSporting LB Vasyl Kravets 👏🔥
‘Die you waste & leave the work in peace and quiet.’
🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/DZlk1LSwiH
— Zorya Londonsk (@ZoryaLondonsk) February 24, 2022
The defender went on to discuss the difficult situation with his family, who remain in Ukraine. He claimed that he isn’t able to sleep at night as he worries about them.
Kravets said: “I call and say: ‘cheer up’ and they say ‘thank you’ but I can’t do anything else. And after 30 minutes… I call again.
“I don’t sleep at all. My mother calls me, she hears gunshots… I’m training but I only think about my country, my family…
“My wife cries 8 or 10 times a day, it’s incredible, they are scared to death.”
The Sporting Gijon man blamed Putin for the invasion of Ukraine, and insisted that the country needs desperate help.
“Some country has to enter Ukraine with its weapons. We are strong but we need help. We don’t want to die, and we don’t want to kill,” he said.
Kravets began his career with Ukrainian outfit Karpaty Lviv before moving to Spain in 2017, where he enjoyed spells at Lugo, Leganes and now Sporting, as well as a loan spell at Lech Poznan.
Related links:
- Paris to host Champions League final after UEFA strip Russia of showpiece game
- Zenit St Peteresburg exit Europa League after late VAR controversy
- Oleksandr Zinchenko attends protest against Russian invasion of Ukraine in Manchester
