Former Liverpool player and Ukraine International Andriy Voronin retired from football in 2013, but his most recent foray into management is a complicated situation.
Since 2020, Voronin has been assistant boss at Russian club Spartak Moscow. Being a high-profile Ukrainian in Russia, he decided to flee the country out of principle.
The 75-time capped Ukraine striker spoke to German outlet Bild about fleeing Russia and the scenes the distress it has caused him and his family.
"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," he said.
"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."
The 42-year-old spent ten years as a professional in Germany before he signed at Anfield, playing for Borussia Mönchengladbach's youth team.
Voronin has permanently left his managerial position at Dynamo Moscow after the invasion. As of this morning, 352 civilian deaths were reported in Ukraine.
Dinamo Moscow fans sang their support for their Ukrainian coach Andrey Voronin, who was given a leave of absence from today’s 3-0 win against Khimki. pic.twitter.com/W4qiTGAJrS
— Russian Football News (@RusFootballNews) February 26, 2022
Devastation in Ukraine
"Maybe (Putin) just wants to be in the history books? But he will never end up there," Voronin said. "Stop that son of a b*#ch Putin, help the refugees. And send weapons so we can defend ourselves."
This week, approximately 14 Brazilian Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk players and their families were evacuated from Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv after a public appeal.
The footballers were stranded in a hotel in the city. They successfully boarded a train out of Ukraine and reached the Romanian capital of Bucharest.
For Voronin, it's not a fair reflection of what he says is a country full of 'beautiful cities' and 'great people', as the Ukrainian league has been suspended.
Ukraine 🇺🇦
Andriy Voronin pic.twitter.com/OK7wBXGpGi— Superb Footy Pics (@SuperbFootyPics) February 27, 2022
"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 World War 2."
"I have friends in Kharkiv, in Kyiv, in my hometown of Odesa. I get messages every five minutes. It's hard to bear. I just want to help. With money. Whatever."
"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."
High-profile Ukrainian sportspeople such as Vasiliy Lomachenko and the Klitschko brothers have vowed to fight in militant branches of the Ukrainian army.
Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has asked for an international tribunal into the matter and has signed an application to join the European Union.
"Nobody in Russia knows about it. It's not shown on TV there - 90% don't even know what's happening. Putin doesn't care about the people. It harms not only us but also the Russian people," Voronin added.
See Also: What UEFA Ban On Russia Means For Champions League Qualifying
