Igor Denisov, formerly the captain of Russia’s national team, has denounced the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In an interview posted on Russian sports journalist Nobel Arustamyan’s Youtube channel, Denisov called the invasion “a complete horror,” adding “I don’t know, maybe I’ll be imprisoned or killed for these words, but I am speaking as it is.”
Denisov also said he had written directly to Vladimir Putin asking him to stop the war, which after years of brinksmanship officially began on February 24.
Denisov captained Russia on and off from 2012-2016, and appeared for his country in the 2014 World Cup. He retired from professional soccer in 2019, and still lives in Russia. He is one of the most prominent Russian athletes to publicly criticize the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, an act that can carry severe penalties. A Russian law enacted this year penalizes “public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Russian Armed Forces” with heavy fines and the possibility of 15 years in prison.
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