Ukrainian footballer Oleksandr Zinchenko makes disgust towards Vladimir Putin clear

Oleksandr Zinchenko has repeatedly condemned Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and has doubled down on his hatred of Vladimir Putin by refusing to utter the president's name

Kasra Moradi Senior Sports Journalist

06:15, 15 Jun 2023

Oleksandr Zinchenko expressed his outrage towards Vladimir Putin(Image: @piersmorgan/Twitter)

Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko has voiced his disgust towards Vladimir Putin.

The Ukrainian footballer has not been shy of lambasting the Russian regime since Putin ordered the unprovoked invasion of his homeland in February 2022.

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Zinchenko immediately called for the Russian leader to "die the most painful death" after the invasion whilst also condemning Sbornaya striker Artem Dzyuba for failing to speak out against Putin's autocracy.

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Now, 16 months after the initial invasion, the Premier League star has once more taken aim at the warmongering president in an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored.

When asked what his thoughts are on Putin, Zinchenko said: “I don’t even want to say his name or to talk about him, honestly.

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“Just yesterday I watched a short clip of him talking to someone about Nova Kakhovka dam, which they destroyed one week ago.

“He was saying Ukraine did it. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their houses. Some of them didn’t survive.”

Do you think Russian athletes should be banned from sports? Let us know in the comments section.

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The Ukrainian refused to say Vladimir Putin's name(Image: SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

The streets of Kherson were left flooded by Russia's reported explosion of the Kakhovka Dam(Image: AP)

Russia was reported to have destroyed the dam, which it had occupied since last year, leading to the flooding of the Kherson region. Twelve people have since been confirmed dead with many more missing, while 300 animals at the Fairytale Dibrova Zoo also drowned in the disaster.

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Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko has condemned Russia's invasion of his homeland(Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Zinchenko also stated Russian and Belarusian athletes should be banned from competitive sports, adding: "I am one of the Ukrainians which don't like to see them on the highest level in any sport. They shouldn't be allowed. Why? Because how many bombs and rockets have been sent from Belarus?

"Listen I am not political. I didn't understand anything about it. I don't understand and I would never understand because this is not my area but this is not political. This is war and they're talking about 'don't put politics in sport'. This is not political, this is war."