Gary Lineker waded into the Russia-Ukraine situation and immediately regretted it

Gary Lineker has spoken up about the situation in Ukraine, after Vladimir Putin declared war on the nation and launched a “full-scale invasion” last night.

The former footballer waded into the situation on social media and immediately regretted it, deleting a tweet about nuclear deterrents posted on Thursday afternoon.

While he later explained that he was trying to make a wider point about nuclear weapons, Lineker admitted that his initial post had been too “ambiguous” and subsequently erased the message.

“All those trillions spent on a so called nuclear deterrent. Madness,” he initially wrote.

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Some appeared confused by his comment as Ukraine does not have a nuclear deterrent, and people took issue with the comments.

"Which nuclear-armed country has been invaded by Russia? Stick to the football and crisps Gary,” economist Ian Shepherdson wrote.

Lineker later deleted the tweet and wrote another message, saying: “Deleted my tweet re Nuclear weapons as it was too ambiguous & therefore misinterpreted.

The original tweet has been deletedTwitter/Gary Lineker

“To be clear it was a general wish that nukes didn’t exist anywhere. They may have stopped wars, although hypothetical, thus far, but it only needs one madman to launch one, & we’re all screwed.”

The 61-year-old previously commented on the decision to move this season’s Champions League final from St Petersburg following the conflict.

“UEFA is to move the Champions League final away from Russia. The right decision,” he wrote.

Meanwhile in the US, President Biden said he condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine and promised the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, that the US would place sanctions on Russia.

In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was appalled by Russia's actions and like the US, would be taking steps to respond.

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