West Ham’s Ukrainian star Andriy Yarmolenko to travel to Poland to collect fleeing family

West Ham star Andriy Yarmolenko will fly to Poland in the coming days to collect his family after they fled Ukraine, according to national team legend Andriy Shevchenko.

Last Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military invasion of neighbouring Ukraine which has already claimed the lives of over 2000 civilians, while the UN says more than half a million people have fled their homes to escape the war.

Yarmolenko – Ukraine’s third most capped player ever – has been granted time off by West Ham following the invasion and now Shevchenko, his former national team manager, has revealed that the 32-year-old’s family were forced to flee the country.

‘Sport has incredible power to change the world and this is what it does,’ Shevchenko, who is regarded as one of Ukraine’s greatest ever athletes, told Sky Sports News.

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‘It is incredible when Everton support [Vitaliy] Mykolenko, when Manchester City support [Oleksandr] Zinchenko.

‘Yarmolenko has got his situation also… his wife was with one of his children in Ukraine, just crossed the border – she is in Poland now.

‘Andriy I think is flying now to Poland to get his wife. I’m not sure but I know his wife, I think she is now across the border and she is probably coming here.

‘I know how difficult it is for him – it’s a stressful time when his family are there.

‘I can’t even concentrate. I just look at the news at what’s going on a little bit. I can’t watch even a football game.’

Yarmolenko is still believed to be in the UK after being granted compassionate leave by West Ham and has been very vocal on social media in his condemnation of Putin’s invasion, branding Russia’s football team