Russian footballer Igor Akinfeev expressed his condolences for the death of a Russian football fan and soldier, Maxim Shmanin, who was killed during the Russia's war in Ukraine. 

It has since been revealed that Shmanin was a member of a pro-Russian separatist group called "Espanyol" in the "Vostok" brigade and went by the call sign "Platskart". He was killed in the area of Ugleader.

Akinfeev's public statement can be seen as an endorsement of Russia's actions in Ukraine.