Manchester City footballer Oleksandr Zinchenko wishes ‘painful death’ on Vladimir Putin as UK stands on brink of war

Manchester City’s Ukrainian star Oleksandr Zinchenko has wish a ‘painful death’ on Vladimir Putin after Russia invaded his home country and launched a military campaign that is already reported to have caused fatalities.

The post has since been deleted, but Zinchenko has claimed that it was Instagram that removed the message and not him.

The post on his social media feed displayed a picture of Putin, with the caption: ‘I hope you die the most painful suffering death, creature.’

Zinchenko had already posted about the conflict before the invasion on Thursday, writing on Instagram earlier in the week: ‘The whole civilised world is worried about the situation in my country. I can’t stay away and try to convey my opinion.

‘In the photo – my country. The country where I was born and raised. A country whose colours I defend in the international sports arena.

‘A country that we try to glorify and develop. A country whose borders must remain inviolable. My country belongs to Ukrainians and no one will ever be able to appropriate it. We will not give up! Glory to Ukraine.’

<p lang=«en» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«en»>The world is watching how reckless and deadly imperialism is, not just for #Ukraine but the whole world. Let history be a lesson to not be repeated.

Zinchenko is not the only figure in sport to speak out, with Dynamo Kiev manager Mircea Lucescu refusing to leave the Ukrainian capital and calling on ‘big people with no brains’ to see sense.

‘All sporting activity in Ukraine was suspended for 30 days,’ said Lucescu. ‘I will not leave Kyiv to return to Romania, I’m not a coward. I hope these big people with no brains will stop this war. I never thought this was possible.’

Former world heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko,