The Ukrainian resistance seems to have exhausted the patience of the Russian army in the conflict between the two countries. Anxious to crack its adversary, Russia intensified its bombardments on Ukrainian territory during the weekend and several sporting events suffered the consequences. Beyond an interrupted Dynamo Kiev match , the Ukrainian national gymnastics championships were also upset by an aerial attack.
A video on social networks shows the athletes involved in the competition taking refuge in a basement during the end of the raid by the Russian army. All with the sound of explosions in the background.
“We can’t train, we can’t compete”
A way of dealing a harsh blow to the defenders of Russia who have been contesting for several weeks the exclusions of Russian gymnasts from international competitions. Gold medalist at the Rio Olympics in 2016 on the parallel bars event, Per Oleg Verniaiev saw this sequence as the perfect response to pro-Russia.
“Here is the answer to your question ‘what are the Russian athletes guilty of?’, Well, what are the Ukrainian athletes guilty of?! We cannot we can’t train, we can’t compete, we can’t do anything, we can only hide in the basements!”
Said the six-time European gymnastics champion quoted by the specialized media Gymnovosti.
Russian and Ukrainian gymnasts part of the battle
“This is how the final competition of the Ukrainian Championships took place on Sunday. In the basement. And how is this happening at your house, Russians? Are you also hiding missiles?”
The video showing the Ukrainian gymnasts in a basement, Angelina Radivilova also challenges her Russian counterparts.
A direct answer to the Russian Angelina Melnikova. Deprived of international competition, the 22-year-old Russian gymnast was offended at the beginning of October by her exclusion. According to her, sport must remain separate from politics.
What does it matter if the sportswoman born in Voronezh, just 280km from Ukraine, posed last May with a “Z”, a symbol of support for the Russian army, in her hands.
Source: RMC Sport
