‘I couldn’t work in a nation that’s bombing my homeland’: Ukrainian ex-Liverpool striker Andriy Voronin reveals how he fled Moscow as war broke out – and considers fighting with a ‘gun in hand’ at home
- Andriy Voronin fled Moscow with his family when Russia invaded Ukraine
- The ex-Ukraine and Liverpool player was assistant manager at Dynamo Moscow
- He says he can’t work in a country ‘bombing his homeland’, and admits he has been ‘unwell for four days’ looking at the news of what is happening in Ukraine
- Voronin also says he would have a ‘gun in his hand’ if he were back home
Ukrainian former Liverpool striker Andriy Voronin has lifted the lid on the dramatic scenes that saw him flee Moscow with his family when Russia waged war on his home country last week.
The now-42-year-old was serving as assistant manager at Dynamo Moscow before Vladimir Putin invaded his native Ukraine, but he now says he ‘can no longer work in the country that is bombing my homeland’.
In an emotional interview with German newspaper Bild following his return to the country where he plied most of his trade as a footballer, Voronin said: ‘We got out of Moscow before it was completely blocked. We couldn’t land in Dusseldorf so we flew via Amsterdam. My father, my mother-in-law, my wife and children are here now.
‘I’ve been unwell for four days. Really bad. When I see all the pictures from my homeland, when I see the news. It’s all as unreal as a movie. But a horror film. I hardly have any words left.’
On Tuesday morning, Dynamo Moscow confirmed Voronin’s exit, with the club tweeting that his contract had been terminated by mutual consent.
As Russia’s troops edge closer to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, there is growing concern of more bloodshed and the deaths of innocent civilians.
A taste of what was to come struck Kharkiv on Monday when bombs rained down on the most Russia-friendly city in Ukraine – which sits 25 miles from the border and is home to 1.5million people – in a bid to break its will to resist.
Former Liverpool forward Andriy Voronin fled Moscow with his family when Russia waged war
Voronin has 75 caps for Ukraine but was working in Russia when Putin invaded his homeland
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence says Russia has lost 5,300 soldiers, 29 planes, 29 helicopters and 151 tanks, while the Ukrainian government are reporting 352 civilian deaths since the start of the invasion.
Speaking about Putin and his motivation for the war, Voronin did not hold back in his criticism, stating that ‘maybe he just wants to be in the history books? But he will never end up there… or at most as a criminal.’
When asked what Germany could do to help Ukraine, Voronin added: ‘Stop that son of a b**** Putin, help the refugees. And send weapons so we can defend ourselves.
‘I’m so proud of our country. We have beautiful cities, great people. We will keep fighting. And we will win. But the price is so high. All the dead… we live in the year 2022 and not in WWII.
Voronin fled to Germany with his wife (pictured), his children, his father and his mother-in-law
He says he can’t work in Russia after their invasion of Ukraine, led by ‘son of a b****’ Putin
‘I have friends in Kharkov, in Kyiv, in my hometown of Odessa. I get messages every five minutes. It’s hard to bear. I just want to help. With money. Whatever… and I don’t know if I should say it: But if I were in Ukraine right now, I’d probably have a gun in my hand too.’
Overnight, Ukraine’s president accused Russia of war crimes after Putin’s forces launched what were believed to be cluster and vacuum bomb attacks in an attempt to turn the tide of a conflict that they have so-far been losing.
In a late night address directed at Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky said there would ‘definitely be an international tribunal’ for what he said was a ‘violation of all conventions’ and added that ‘no one in the world will forgive you for killing peaceful Ukrainian people.’
Hundreds of innocent civilians have already been killed amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky (centre, pictured after signing an application for Ukraine to join the EU) has accused Russia of war crimes in his latest address to the world
Prosecutors at The Hague say they intend to open a probe ‘as soon as possible.’
Zelensky spoke after what appeared to be a cluster bomb attack on the city of Kharkiv on Monday which killed at least 11 people and wounded scores more, and after Ukraine’s ambassador to the US accused Putin’s forces of using a banned thermobaric bomb on the capital of Kyiv overnight.
The bombardment of Kharkiv continued Tuesday morning with a rocket landing just in front of the civilian public administration building, destroying the road outside and blowing the windows out of the building itself. Footage from inside shows the building was heavily damaged, with ceilings collapsing and rubble strewn around.
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