West Ham United forward Andriy Yarmolenko has flown to the Ukraine border to rescue his wife and child after they fled the country following Russia's brutal invasion, according to national team legend Andriy Shevchenko.
It has been a week since Vladimir Putin launched a Russian invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, with heavy shelling on a number of cities claiming the lives of over 2000 civilians, while the UN have reported that over half a million people have fled their homes throughout the country.
Yarmolenko, who is his country's third most-capped player of all time, was granted compassionate leave by West Ham on Sunday and therefore missed their win over Wolves, but all of his team-mates wore shirts with his name on the back during their warm-up.
And with the 32-year-old now taking time off, Shevchenko has revealed that the player's wife and child have fled the country and crossed the Ukraine border and into Poland, where Yarmolenko has flown out to meet and collect them.
‘Sport has incredible power to change the world and this is what it does,’ Shevchenko told Sky Sports. ‘It is incredible when Everton support [Vitaliy] Mykolenko, when Manchester City support [Oleksandr] Zinchenko.
‘Yarmolenko has got his situation also… his wife was with one of his children in Ukraine, just crossed the border – she is in Poland now.
‘Andriy I think is flying now to Poland to get his wife. I’m not sure but I know his wife, I think she is now across the border and she is probably coming here.
‘I know how difficult it is for him – it’s a stressful time when his family are there.
‘I can’t even concentrate. I just look at the news at what’s going on a little bit. I can’t watch even a football game.’
Shevchenko also revealed he considered returning to Ukraine to join his fellow countrymen in defending Ukraine and fighting against the invasion, but the footballing icon believes his current platform can be used to gain support for Ukraine.
Shevchenko, who's mother and sister decided to stay in war-torn Kyiv, added: ‘I’m so proud to be Ukrainian. It’s a very difficult moment for my country, my people, my family. My mum and sister are in Kyiv at the moment, and terrible things have happened there. People dying, children dying, missiles pointing into our houses.
‘We need to stop this war, we need to find a way to stop the war. We have refugees, we need humanitarian aid. We need medical support, food support. It feels like I can do a lot here, and I will do.
‘I have tried [to convince my family to leave] many times, I have talked to them, but the answer is no. They want to stay there. This is the Ukrainian spirit.
‘Football doesn’t exist for me anymore. I don’t think about it. It’s not the time for that. I’m not watching anything, any sport, anything.
‘All my concentration, when I wake up, I think about how I can help my country, what I can do. I’ve started to call my parents, my friends, get updates on what’s going on in Ukraine. For me, this is my field, this is my concentration now.’
Yarmolenko was believed to be in the country on Wednesday when he recorded a video of himself slamming Russia's football team for staying silent, while also taking aim at the national team's captain Artem Dzyuba.
In a message posted to his social media, where he tagged a number of players including Russia captain Artem Dzyuba, Atalanta's Aleksei Miranchuk and Valencia's Denis Cheryshev, Yarmolenko urged urged the Russian players to unite and 'show their balls in real life' - in reference to a leaked 2020 video, which allegedly showed Dzyuba masturbating.
‘I’m Andriy Yarmolenko, a Ukrainian national player, I was born in Saint Petersburg but grew up in Ukraine and regard myself as 100 per cent Ukrainian,' Yarmolenko said in the Instagram clip.
'I have a question for Russian players. Guys, why are you sitting like s***heads, and not saying anything? In my country they’re killing people, killing wives, killing mothers, killing our children. But you saying nothing, you’ve given no comments.
‘Tell me please, what will happen if all of you together, united, show the people what is really happening in my country. I know a lot of you, I’m familiar with many of you and you all told me "it shouldn’t be like this", that your president is acting incorrectly.
‘So guys, you have influence over the people, show this, I am asking you, please! I know some of you like to show your balls on camera but now the time’s come to show your balls in real life.
'Thank you for your attention! Glory to Ukraine.'
The clip drew ire from Dzyuba, who accused Yarmolenko of 'sitting on his a** in his English mansion' and being 'nasty'.
And while Yarmolenko flies out to collect his family in Poland, he also reportedly made a huge £75,000 donation to his country's Armed Forces.
West Ham boss David Moyes revealed the player trained on Monday but is willing to give him as much time off as he needs.
'Andriy Yarmolenko came back in and did a bit of light training yesterday. I had a good chat with him,' Moyes told reporters on Tuesday.
'Obviously, he is really upset with the whole situation as many people are especially those from Ukraine so we will not rush him.
'I've asked him to come in today and see how he feels. If he feels fine and up to it, he'll travel with the team. If he doesn't, we'll give him some more days off.'
Yarmolenko and other Ukrainian players, including Manchester City defender Oleksandr Zinchenko, called on the world of football to speak up against the invasion, which Russia calls 'a special military operation', in a video posted to social media on Tuesday.
'Today is the sixth day of the war. Civil people are dying. Houses and squares are disappearing, but our faith in victory is not,' Yarmolenko said in the video's caption.
Football's world governing body FIFA and European counterpart UEFA on Monday suspended Russia's national teams and clubs from international football until further notice.
