THE BALL – «If they invaded Portugal, wouldn’t we fight?» (Ukraine)
In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, Paulo Fonseca again commented on the situation in the situation, where he had recently lived with his wife, Katerina Fonseca, a country that was forced to leave Ukraine from Russia.
«How was the escape from Kiev? A nightmare. His return trip to Portugal was scheduled for February 24, at 10 am. That dawn, at 4:30 am, we heard the first bombs fall on the city. We were afraid. The Portuguese embassy organized the trip and we left for Moldova. It was a terrible trip. Thirty hours non-stop, sometimes with queues. Only when you get to the border with Romania to know it, so to speak. My wife cried»», the coach the Portuguese, Ukraine, Shakhtar time, Shakhtar Donetsk, a club from one of the regions that Russia referred to as an independent as a whole.
“Is there a different feeling in eastern Ukraine towards the Russians? Do not. The problem is that in 2014 [n.d.r. invasão da Crimeia] the world turned a blind eye to Donetsk and Donbass. I have friends there and nobody wanted to be part of Russia. The information is manipulated, the Russians do not know the truth. But in the future, it will be the people who will suffer as a consequence. That’s why I think people themselves can change the situation.”
Asked what it takes to stop Russia and face the nuclear threat of President Vladimir Putin: “I am not a politician, but I am in favor of the no-fly zone, for example. We are letting Putin feel stronger and stronger because he feels the fear of the international community. However, if you don’t stop now it will be harder for him to stop later. The worst is yet to come.”
On whether, to avoid the worst, the surrender of Ukraine would be a solution, Paulo Fonseca answers pragmatically: «It is easy to talk from afar. If the Russians invaded Italy or Portugal, wouldn’t we fight? There is nothing more precious than freedom. And now there are many fearful countries like Georgia, Moldova, Poland and the Baltic countries. If Putin wins this war it will be a problem for the whole world.”