Football legend Pele used Instagram to make a plea to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, 1 June, to end his "wicked" and "unjustifiable" invasion of Ukraine.
The post was uploaded by the Brazilian a few minutes before Ukraine's national team played in a World Cup qualifier.
"I want to use today's game as an opportunity to make a request: Stop this invasion. No argument exists that can justify violence," Pele wrote in the statement. The translation has been provided by Reuters.
"This conflict is wicked, unjustifiable and brings nothing but pain, fear, terror and anguish," the statement added.
Pele and Putin have met in the past, with the latter saying that the former is one of his favourite football players.
"When we met in the past and exchanged smiles accompanied by a long handshake, I never thought one day we would be as divided as we are today," the football legend who served as Brazil's first minister of sports in the 1990s, wrote.
Ukraine won their game against Scotland, 3-1.
It has now been a full 100 days since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian military has pushed back Russian troops from Kyiv and other areas in the central part of the country, and consequently, the fighting has entirely shifted to the eastern side.
(With inputs from Reuters.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)