The 23-year-old, who previously played for Russian second-tier side Torpedo Moscow, will continue with Manchester City for the rest of the season, the club recently confirmed via its official website. The midfielder also played for the Ukraine national under-21 football team. In the midst of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he has migrated to England to seek refuge.
The Premier League table-toppers, along with their full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko took the initiative of bringing the Ukrainian athlete to the club. Zinchenko had previously played alongside Kravchuk in Shakhtar Donetsk’s academy in their youth.
The youngster said that even though the two haven’t seen each other for a while, Oleks was very helpful to him after the invasion began on February 24. Zinchenko, on his part, proclaimed his wishes that it would have been better if they could have met under different circumstances, which have nothing in common with football scores today. However, he is still thankful for the bonding they are having now.
Kravchuk’s family is still residing in Ukraine’s capital city, Kyiv, amidst the conflict, and his brother Oleks is fighting for his country with their armed forces. The player says to call his relative every day and tell him how proud he is because of what he is doing for the nation. The regular bombings and airstrikes every day keep reminding the athlete that his entire family can pass away on any given day, he said.
According to his own words, the last few weeks have been mentally quite difficult for Kravchuk with all that is going on, and the opportunity of being in the field means quite a lot to him. In an interview with the Ukrainian major media outlet ua-football.com, he revealed that it was way too uncomfortable for him to know what Russia has been bringing upon Ukraine and still continuing to play in their club.
He was developing his career in the country that was invading his motherland, and the decision was straightforward to him. Even though he is looking for a new club to sign a contract with, the first thing the footballer had to do was to leave his previous employers. The fact that all this catastrophe is taking place in the middle of Europe in the 21st century has still left him in shambles.
”Leaving Torpedo Moscow was the only right solution due to the circumstances I have found myself in. I felt embarrassed [after the war began], and my compatriots just would have never understood my choice if I’d decided to continue my career there. Of course, I still cannot believe that all these things are actually happening in the centre of 21st century Europe”, he stated.
On March 31, he began practising with the Elite Development Squad, where he will remain for the remainder of the ongoing season. This will help him concentrate on sports and support his current situation. However, Kravchuk is now just in training, but they have decided to let him join City so that he can keep his sports fitness and progress.
