Zinchenko wipes away tears in powerful Ukraine conversation with Lineker

Oleksandr Zinchenko fought back tears in an emotional interview with Gary Lineker over the war in Ukraine - with the Manchester City ace urging Russia to stop their invasion.

Vladimir Putin's decision to invade has left Ukraine utterly devastated over the past week. And a number of Ukrainian Premier League stars have been left visibly distraught before recent games.

Despite the horrific situation, Zinchenko has shown commendable bravery to continue playing, and he even captained Pep Guardiola's side during Tuesday's 2-0 win over Peterborough in the FA Cup.

He's now spoken out on the disgraceful scenes in his homeland in a tear-jerking interview with Lineker.

And he's admitted that he's struggling to come to terms with the situation.

"I'm just crying," the 25-year-old told BBC Sport. "I promise you, I'm just crying.

"It's already a week, like I'm not counting, but even, I can drive the car from the training ground, or it doesn't matter where, I can just cry from nothing, because it's everything in my head.

"Imagine the place where you was born, where you was growing up, and there is just empty ground."

Zinchenko broke off to share his admiration for his compatriots who were defending their country with their lives.

A number of high-profile sports stars, such as the Klitschko brothers and Oleksandr Usyk, have taken up arms to fight in the war.

And he admitted that, if it wasn't for his family, he too would be back in Ukraine fighting.

"I'll be honest, if not for my daughter, my family, I would be there," he added.

"I'm so proud. I'm so proud to be Ukrainian. And I will be forever, for the rest of my life. And when you're watching the people, how they fight for their lives...There are no words.

"I know the people, the mentality of my people from my country. They prefer to die, and they will die. But they're not going to give [up]."

Putin has maintained that the invasion of Russia is a security operation rather than a war or an invasion.

But that claim was angrily refuted by Zinchenko - who slammed the violence against his home nation as "unacceptable".

"I can show you one million pictures. I can show you one million videos. I can show you every city in my country which they have destroyed. And this is a security operation? It's impossible.

"This is real war. And the way, what they are doing with my people, it is unacceptable. We need to stop this."