Ukrainian tennis player Oleksandra Oliinykova, after advancing to the second round of the French Open (Roland Garros), condemed any behind-the-scenes discussions about the possible return of russian and Belarusian athletes to international tournaments under their national flags.
“This flag is a sign of terror. This flag is something what the russian soldiers are using after they are destroy the city completely. The cities where they are coming with the only one intention – to destroy, to kill, to rape, to steal. These symbols are horrible. This is something absolutely unacceptable and for Ukrainians this is very traumatizing. We need to understand what this means right now in the modern context. And using something like this it’s the same thing as using, I don’t know, swastika. Let’s go on the court with a swastika. I see zero difference. And the fact that now this is under any discussion, it’s horrible,” Oliinykova stated.The tennis player drew a direct historical parallel, noting that the civilized world has no right to turn a blind eye to obvious things or tolerate propaganda in which athletes from the russian Federation directly participate.
