Jurgen Klopp labels Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ‘the war of one really bad man’

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has joined the many voices from within football in condemning Russia president Vladimir Putin for his invasion of Ukraine which began last week.

Russian and Ukrainian forces have been clashing outside many of Ukraine’s major cities.

On Sunday, Putin put his nuclear deterrent forces on ‘alert’ and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko issued a chilling threat on Sunday that the West’s sanctions on Russia are pushing the Kremlin into a Third World War. 

The United States condemned Putin’s order to put his nuclear forces on high alert as dangerous and ‘unacceptable.’ The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield also said nothing was ‘off the table’ when asked about the possibility of Putin being tried in international court as a war criminal. 

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has now added his voice to those condemning the actions of Putin. 

‘It’s beyond my understanding,’ Klopp told Viaplay Fotball. 

‘I am 54, nearly 55, and it is beyond my understanding how one adult can put the whole world in such a situation – especially the people in Ukraine.

‘I know so many Ukrainian people and Russian people as well. It’s obviously not about the people, it is the war of one really bad man.

‘We have to show solidarity. How it always is in dark times, you need moments where you can think about something.

‘It is a really tough one to take. Three days ago, or whenever it started, we are all constantly on the phone.

‘Former players of mine are probably now in the war, I don’t know exactly if they went back directly to their home country.

‘We have to show solidarity and it looks like we do that. It looks like we can’t stop him [Putin], but at least we can cause him more problems than he may have expected. Maybe that helps the people in Ukraine.’

Klopp said ‘it is beyond my understanding how one adult can put the world in such a situation.’

Ukraine and Russia are due to meet for talks on Monday but Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky admitted he wasn’t confident of a positive outcome but said he owed it to people.

The EU has unveiled a new package of sanctions against Putin’s regime, closing off its airspace to all Russian planes and banning Kremlin propaganda outlets Russia Today and Sputnik.

Ukraine’s health ministry said on Sunday that 352 civilians, including 14 children, had been killed since the beginning of Russia’s invasion.

At least 200,000 people have fled Ukraine to three countries, with 150,000 said to have crossed into Poland alone.

The actions of Putin have been widely condemned by the footballing community with many teams showing support to Ukraine.

Manchester United’s players and interim boss Ralf Rangnick held a sign asking for peace before their game against Watford while Aston Villa’s Matty Cash revealed a message of support for his Polish team-mate who plays for Dynamo Kyiv.

Liverpool and Chelsea fans showed their support with homemade signs displayed at Wembley

Manchester City and Everton also showed their support with a pre-match gesture as Ukrainian players Oleksandr Zinchenko and Vitaliy Mykolenko embraced on the pitch before the tribute.

Klopp was speaking after his team had defeated Chelsea to win their ninth League Cup trophy.

Before the game, both teams posed alongside two blue and yellow wreaths before kick off.