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Ukraine & Sporting Gijon ace Vasyl Kravets ready to ‘go to war’ as Russia tennis star Andrey Rublev sends Putin message

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A UKRAINIAN football hero and a Russian tennis superstar have made remarkable stands as sport acts against Vladimir Putin’s aggressions.

Sporting Gijon defender Vasyl Kravets wants to pause his career to ‘go to war’ on Ukraine’s Russian invaders – even though he ‘can’t load a gun’.

Spanish second-flight star Vasyl Kravets is prepared to stop playing football and take up arms against Ukraine’s invadersCredit: Getty
Russia’s tennis superstar Andrey Rublev has openly criticised the invasion

And Russian World No7 Andrey Rublev scrawled ‘No War Please’ on TV cameras after his semi-final win in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Paris has already replaced Saint Petersburg as Champions League final hosts on May 28.

And on Friday night the EFL joined with the FA ‘in a display of solidarity for Ukraine’ by lighting Wembley Stadium’s arch blue and yellow, ahead of Sunday’s Carabao Cup Final between Chelsea and Liverpool.

Napoli and Barcelona players also came together to display a ‘Stop War’ banner before their epic Europa League clash on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, F1 chiefs cancelled the Russian GP in Sochi on September 25.

But former Under-21 international Kravets says he is ready to take sport’s reaction to the heavy assault on Ukraine to a new level.

The left-back, who is on loan at Gijon from Spanish rivals Leganes, insists he will ditch his anti-violence beliefs to fight Ukraine’s invaders.

The 24-year-old told Spain’s Radio Marca: “They are killing people, civilians, in hospitals… it’s all Putin’s fault.

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“I don’t want to say it’s Russia’s fault, but Putin’s.

“We are a country that wants to live in peace. We don’t want to attack anyone, we want to live well and calm.

“I tell the truth – I want to go to war and help my people.

“But I can’t help because I don’t know how to shoot, how to move, how to reload a gun…but the truth is that I want to help.

“If I could go, I would – to defend my country. It is obligatory for the heart of Ukrainians.

“If my country needs everyone to defend our country, I’m leaving. I’ll talk to Sporting and I’ll leave.”

My wife cries eight or 10 times a day. It’s incredible. They are scared to death.

Vasyl Kravets

Kravets revealed the tough conversations he is having with his family back home.

He said: “I call and say: ‘cheer up’ and they say ‘thank you’ but I can’t do anything else. And after 30 minutes… I call again.

“I don’t sleep at all. My mother calls me, she hears gunshots… I’m training but I only think about my country, my family…

“My wife cries eight or 10 times a day. It’s incredible. They are scared to death.”

Rublev too has criticised the ‘terrible war’.

He said: “You realise how important is to have peace in the world and to respect each other no matter what, to be united.”

The 24-year-old backed that up with his message to Putin written big on a TV monitor.

Rublev had just beaten Pole Hubert Hurkach 3-6 7-5 7-6 to reach his second successive final.

But the Moscow-born ace was sombre-faced afterwards as he pleaded for the invasion to end.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk

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