Asked whether he would answer a call-up to fight, if he saw more value in that than staying to play football in the Premier League, the 27-year-old told said, “I think it’s a clear answer. I would go [to fight]”.

Zinchenko said Ukraine has become a “shield” for Europe and called for more support.

He added that he had former school friends fighting on the frontline.

“It’s tough to understand that just recently we’ve been in the same school, we were playing in the playground or on the football pitch, and now they have to defend our country,” he said.

“And, honestly, [it’s] so hard to accept this, but it is what it is. We cannot give up.”

“I know maybe some people might think that it’s much easier … for me being here [in London] rather than being there [in Ukraine]. I really hope that this war will end soon,” he said.