Russia: Conte calls for the 'world to show solidarity against STUPID people'

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has become the latest high-profile football figure to speak out against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Dozens of civilians have been killed and hundreds wounded after Russian rocket artillery opened fire on Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv, authorities in Kiev said on Monday.

The world of football has stood up against Russia today after Premier League clubs acted during their top-flight matches over the weekend.

And now Spurs boss Antonio Conte has given his thoughts on Russia declaring war on Ukraine, blasting the conflict 'stupid'.

'My opinion is that it's a very sad situation. We are in 2022 and to talk about the possibility about being at war is incredible,' he said when speaking to the press ahead of his side's fifth-round FA Cup clash against Middlesbrough on Tuesday night.

'It's incredible and at the same time it's stupid. Only to think about this.

'We need to have peace in the world, not people to die for this type of situation that I repeat is incredible in 2022 to have a war.

'War is not the answer for anything. The world has to be compact and show solidarity against stupid people.'

Last weekend West Ham players warmed up in supportive shirts for Ukrainian star Andriy Yarmolenko after he was granted compassionate leave while their opponents Wolves wore 'No To War' shirts in their match on Sunday.

Yarmolenko has reportedly made a huge £75,000 donation to his country's Armed Forces in the wake of Russia's invasion.

Liverpool and Chelsea players stood in solidarity with Ukraine moments before their Carabao Cup final kicked off at Wembley, which was just hours after Blues owner Roman Abramovich relinquished control of the club.

On Saturday, players from Manchester United and Watford held a banner of the peace symbol with the word written in numerous languages including Russian and Ukrainian.

Crystal Palace displayed their support on the Selhurst Park big screen and Aston Villa's Matty Cash revealed a shirt in support of his Polish team-mate who plays for Dynamo Kyiv.

Conte's comments came as Kharkiv was hit by rockets fired from Russian positions - with video showing an area around a major shopping centre blanketed by explosions.

Graphic images and video then revealed streets littered with the bodies of dead and badly wounded civilians, with other images showing showing spent BM-21 Grad rocket cartridges laying in the streets and having fallen through apartment roofs.  It marks one of the most-serious attacks on civilians since the war began five days ago, and came despite Ukrainian and Russian delegations sitting down in Belarus for 'peace talks'.

Ukraine said ahead of the negotiations that it is seeking a ceasefire and total withdrawal of all Russian forces from its country, with President Zelensky saying he was not hopeful of results but had to try. Moscow would not be drawn on what its ambitions are.

Observers have warned that the talks could pre-sage an increase in fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces, as Putin increasingly deploys heavy forces that were absent from early fighting in an attempt to force a victory that has so-far eluded him.

There are fears that Kyiv could soon come under very heavy attack, after the Kremlin warned civilians to leave the city via a 'safe route' to the south-west. Russia used similar tactics in Syrian cities while fighting alongside Basahar al-Assad before its forces heavily bombed them.

Russian armour is currently working to surround Kyiv with tank manoeuvering to cut it off from the west, after attacks by advanced forces failed to penetrate the outskirts. Colonel General Alexander Syrsky said early Monday that Kyiv had survived another night while inflicting 'heavy losses' on Russian attackers.

Though Russian advanced forces have been fighting in Kyiv's outskirts for several days, the bulk of Putin's assault force is still located around 20 miles away having been slowed up by determined resistance fighters - with satellite images revealing a huge column of vehicles headed for the city.

The cities of Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia, and Chernihiv were also bombed overnight, with air raid sirens sounding in other areas.

In the south, Russians reported capturing the port city of Berdiansk with troops and armoured vehicles shown rolling through the centre, and were closing in on the city of Mariupol which was in danger of becoming surrounded - though remained under Ukrainian control as of the early hours.