Brazilian football legend, Pele has expressed his vehement opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a message on his Instagram page, he implored Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to end the ongoing war, noting that his actions are unjustifiable.
Pele’s admonition is coming ahead of Ukraine’s 2022 World Cup playoff semi-final against Scotland on Wednesday.
He wrote “There is absolutely no justification for this continued violence.
“This conflict is wicked, unjustifiable and brings nothing but pain, fear, terror and anguish.
“Wars only exist to separate nations, and there’s no ideology that justifies projectile missiles burying the dreams of children, ruining families and killing the innocent,” he said.
Pele recalled a meeting with Putin in 2017 and added: “The power to stop this conflict is in your hands. The same ones I shook in Moscow, at our last meeting in 2017.”