The world has been rocked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin moved from a malign presence to a despotic, bloodthirsty demagogue the moment his tanks invaded the sovereign democracy that is Ukraine.

Nearly a million civilians, including women, children and the elderly, are believed to have already left their homes in search of safety, with hundreds of innocent people, young and old, killed by Russians.

The courage the proud people of Ukraine have shown in fighting for their freedom has been as inspiring as it has been humbling.

The situation is dire, but the bravery of Ukraine, as well as the power of economic, financial and sporting sanctions that are weakening Russia’s hand, leave hope the situation can improve. 

While sport is absolutely not a matter of life and death – far, far from it - it does have the power to unite, and to share stories.

Here is Andriy’s story.

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Andriy is a loyal Arsenal supporter from Ukraine.

He comes from Dubno, in the west of the country. He says with a shrug there have only been ‘a few missiles fired at his region so far’.

With Russian tanks massed outside the capital Kyiv, and a number of fierce battles continuing in cities around the country, Andriy’s stoic courage is humbling.

With intermittent connectivity and Russian missiles falling on military bases in his area, Andriy is keen to share his story with fellow Gooners - and the wider world, if only to garner further support for his country among fellow Gunners.

“I would like to send a message to every Arsenal fan in the UK and all around the world: Huge thanks for your support,” adding in his disarmingly honest way, “I feel awful of course, how I can feel anything otherwise, when there is a war in my country?

“I hope that this war does not come to my native town because I have seen what the Russians do, even to small towns like mine. In other parts of Ukraine it is awful.

“But I'm trying to keep calm and do everything that I can here for my army and refugees directly from war zone.”

Like so many others in Eastern European countries after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union, Andriy enjoyed the peace that comes with living in a democracy.

Life continued, and a young Andriy began to take an interest in Arsene Wenger’s North London side.

With his wife, hard-working Andriy ran a flourishing travel agency in his hometown as well as a guesthouse.

“The first Arsenal game I saw was against Dynamo Kyiv in 1998,” he recalls, adding, “it was the match with Rebrov’s goal in the last seconds. I become an Arsenal fan in 1999 when Arsenal bought Oleh Luzhny.

“I started to watch some European matches on Ukrainian TV and then in the middle of the 2000`s I started to watch AFC games regularly."

As time progressed Andriy made trips across Europe to support his beloved Arsenal.

Amid the shelling right now in his region, Andriy takes a moment to recall happy awaydays with Gooners across the European continent. A continent that is now, unbelievably, host to an unpopular war waged by a hated dictator.

In more peaceful times, you may even have stood near to Andriy during some of Arsenal’s European matches over the last few years. This brave man remembers with a smile, convivial visits to Standard Liege, Eintract Frankfurt and Vitoria Guimaraies to cheer on his team.

He also made the journey to Baku for the 2019 Europa League final, and despite the disappointment that night in the Azerbaijan capital following the 4-1 defeat to Chelsea, he says: “That was a great year,” tailing off as he says ruefully, “before Covid and total war…”

Andriy’s favourite player was and is Robert Pires, with Thierry Henry’s emotive return to Arsenal against Leeds in January 2012 one of his favourite memories. As he says of the unforgettable climax to that match, “Well, you know the rest.”

The loyal Gunner from the Ukraine is just like many of us, and while he is obsessed with our team and the day-to-day news of Mike Arteta’s side and their chase for the top four, Andriy is also keenly aware of the illustrious history of our club.

He surrounds himself with a large number of Arsenal books, and to our utter surprise, the Gooner Fanzine. He proudly sends us a photograph of his bookcase complete with a shelf dedicated to back issues of the Gooner. Astounding we say.

Modest Andriy bats our praise away, saying: “It’s not just the Gooner Fanzine. I have many books, as most official Arsenal programmes from 1959 to 2020, many official magazines and DVDs too. And shirts and shorts.”

He continues eagerly as befits a passionate Gooner: “I live in a small town, there is no real Arsenal fans except me, so usually I watch games only with my wife. Big final I games try to watch in Kyiv with fellow Gooners. I haven`t been in UK yet due to some problems such as with the entry visa and so on, but instead,” he underlines, “before Covid I was on many European away Arsenal games including Baku.”

We speak during Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough in the FA Cup fifth round.

And despite the chilling prospect of an escalation in fighting and all that entails with an out of control Russian dictator, the news that Arsenal’s football rivals have exited the world’s oldest knock-out competition still manages to raise a smile. “Losers” he scoffs with delight, as he jokes with gallows humour at a nod to western sanctions: “Even Spurs have showed solidarity towards Ukraine Gooners - by withdrawing from the FA Cup.”

Andriy says that he is attempting to contact his friends and fellow Gooners in Kyiv but he knows the situation there is deeply worrying.

“I am trying but you must understand that some of them are in the army now, while others have volunteered. Some are also in civilian shelters without internet.

“They are in a real war zone now.”

The next morning as news of the battle for freedom and survival intensifies across Ukraine, proud, brave, inspirational Ukraine, Andriy shares a picture of the bombed civic building in Kharkiv's Freedom Square.  

“The situation in Kharkiv is awful” he explains, “it’s one of the dangerous places in Ukraine right now.

However, he is acutely aware of the situation and calls on people to help if they can.

“If you want do something more for Ukraine - and Ukrainian Gooners - please donate to our army. There is a special account on the National Bank of Ukraine’s web page.

“There are also various volunteer organisations such as like Savelife. I think you can easily find information about them on the internet." 

Despite the worsening situation Andriy is resolutely stoic as we bid farewell. I promise to stay in touch.

As war draws in he ends our conversation by saying simply: “Once a Gooner, always a Gooner.”