West Ham United forward Andriy Yarmolenko opened up about his anguish and thanked everyone for the support they have offered Ukraine as Russia’s invasion of his home country continues.
Yarmolenko came off the bench to score for West Ham against Aston Villa, a goal that was followed by emotional scenes around the London Stadium.
It was his first appearance since returning to David Moyes’s team, having been initially granted compassionate leave by his club when the war broke out.
Yarmolenko has immediate family who are now safely in England after fleeing Ukraine via Poland.
The city where his family settled, Chernihiv, in the north of Ukraine, is also among those that has been badly hit.
He said: ‘It was so emotional for me because of the situation in my country.. It is so difficult for me right now in this moment thinking about football because every day, the Russian army is killing Ukrainian people.
‘I just want to say thank you to my team-mates, who support me all the time, every day. To West Ham fans, they also support me and Ukrainian people and also to all British people, because we feel you support us. Thank you, really.
‘I’m not ready for 100% because the last two weeks I train maybe three or four times.
Andriy Yarmolenko was in tears after scoring for West Ham in their 2-1 victory over Aston Villa
The Ukrainian forward was back for the first time since being granted compassionate leave
‘Since 26 February, I had to rest for four days because it was impossible to train, I was just thinking about my family and my people. I just tried to give everything on the pitch.’
‘Said [Benrahma] gave me the ball. In the box, you don’t have a lot of time and you need to do everything really quick and I was quick enough.
‘For me, it is really important to feel the support from the manager and my team-mates and the fans. When I feel it, I give everything for the fans and the club.’
Hammers boss David Moyes said: ‘I spoke to him yesterday and he has family members in Ukraine and family here.
‘[Goalkeeper] Lukasz Fabianski has been a really big help to him regarding getting into Poland as well. There has been a real team spirit effort, a real team effort behind the scenes.
‘We had given him time off at the start because he was on the phone all the time, then he came in a little but he has been in three or four days over this period.
‘He is just grateful and appreciates that everyone is trying to help him.’
An American freelance filmmaker has been shot dead by Russian troops while filming refugees in Irpin, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv – is the latest news from Ukraine.
This is the badge freelance journalist Brent Renaud was carrying when he was shot and killed in Irpin, Ukraine, today while filming refugees
The other US journalist in the truck is Juan Arreondo. He is shown in the hospital speaking to an Italian newspaper about how they were driving across a bridge when Russian troops opened fire on them after a checkpoint
Brent Renaud, 50, was in a car with other journalists in Irpin, near Kyiv, when Russian troops opened fire. He was shot dead and one of his colleagues was injured.
Initially, he was thought to have been on assignment for The New York Times because he was carrying a press badge that listed the newspaper as his publication but it has since emerged he was working on a global film about refugees.
Renaud’s death was announced by Andrey Nebitov, the head of Kyiv’s police department, who said in a Facebook post that he paid ‘with his life for trying to highlight the aggressor’s ingenuity, cruelty and ruthlessness.’
He also shared a video, taken by a police officer at the scene, who said a third journalist was wounded.
Another US journalist who survived the attack spoke to a reporter for Italian paper Internazionale from the hospital.
Juan Arredondo said Renaud had been shot in the neck and ‘had to be left behind’.
‘We had crossed the first bridge in Irpin. We were going to film other refugees leaving we got into a car.
Putin shows ‘willingness’ to negotiate, US says
Russia is showing signs of a willingness to engage in substantive negotiations over Ukraine, even as Moscow currently is intent on ‘destroying’ its neighbor, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on Sunday.
Sherman, in an interview with ‘Fox News Sunday’, said the United States is putting ‘enormous pressure’ on Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a cease-fire in its weeks-old invasion of Ukraine and to allow the creation of humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to escape.
‘That pressure is beginning to have some effect. We are seeing some signs to have real, serious negotiations. But I have to say… so far it appears Vladimir Putin is intent on destroying Ukraine,’ Sherman said.
Earlier, she said: ‘Right now it looks like it ends very badly already for the Ukrainian people. It is just awful. Particularly in Mauripol where people are going to starve to death or freeze to death or die because they don’t have their medicine. It is truly horrifying.
‘There are two objectives that we have – one is to support Ukraine in every way we can. The second is to put enormous pressure on Vladimir Putin to change his calculus to either end this war, get a ceasefire in the first instance and to get humanitarian corridors.
‘That pressure is beginning to have some effect we are seeing signs of willingness to have real, serious negotiations but I have to say so far, it appears Vladimir Putin is intent on destroying Ukraine,’ she said.
‘Somebody offered to take us to the other bridge. We crossed a checkpoint and they started shooting at us.
‘The driver turned around, there were two of us. My friend is Brent Renaud. He has been shot and left behind. I saw he has been shot in the neck. We got split,’ he said.
The White House has not yet commented on Renaud’s death but National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan called it ‘shocking and horrifying.’ He said the US would consult with Ukrainian officials about what to do next.
It remains unclear if Biden will retaliate against Putin. Earlier on Sunday, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Putin is finally starting to show signs of ‘willingness’ to negotiate to end the war but that up until now he has seemed ‘intent on destroying Ukraine’.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk