The striker received Ukrainian citizenship in 2019 and appeared in a video in which players appealed to the Brazilian government for help
Brazil-born striker Junior Moraes could be conscripted by the Ukrainian army under an order by the country’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, that men cannot leave the country following Russia’s invasion – little more than a day after the Shakhtar Donetsk star pleaded to the Brazilian government to help him flee his adopted homeland.
Two-time Ukrainian Premier League top scorer Moraes joined a group of Brazilian players based in Ukraine who asked for assistance to leave the country after Zelenskyy declared martial law on Thursday.
In a post shared with his Instagram following of more than 235,000, Moraes was quoted as saying: “The situation is one of despair. I ask you to disclose this video so that it reaches the government.
“Borders are closed, banks, there is no fuel – there will be a shortage of food, there is no money. We are gathered waiting for a plan to leave Ukraine.”
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Zelensky has since banned male citizens aged between 18 and 60 from leaving Ukraine as part of a full military mobilization lasting for 90 days.
As a naturalized Ukrainian, Moraes could be required to report to a military institution for duty.