Tsurenko: Part of the territory of our country is occupied, but it seems that everyone is already tired of hearing about it

Ukrainian tennis player Lesya Tsurenko after being eliminated from the Australian Open, she once again recalled Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.

“Yes, people don’t want to talk about the war, they don’t want to hear bad news. I get a lot of negative messages on social media that people get annoyed when I post something about this topic. But you know, as I said, it’s very difficult to explain if you don’t feel what I and other Ukrainians feel.”

“With the ribbon on my T-shirt, I want to remind people that the war is still going on and our people are still fighting. You know that part of the territory of our country is occupied, but it seems that everyone is already tired of hearing about it. But, unfortunately, this is still going on. This is part of my life and the lives of other Ukrainians. And we must talk about this. We need to remind people about Ukraine and of course all the other wars that are going on around the world right now, how unfair it is, and of course I would like all wars to stop, especially in my country, but I think “that this requires the efforts of the whole world.”

“It’s very hard. It’s just another… I know where they come from. So this is another reminder for me. And it hurts. I just know that they are from those countries that invaded Ukraine. Some are active, some are silent, but they are all part of that propaganda, that war machine that is now causing pain to my country and my people. So this is very, very difficult for me.”

“I used to communicate well with many Russian and Belarusian players, but now I don’t, because it’s impossible. Plus I don’t respect them for it, it turned out to be impossible for most of them to just come up and say that they don’t agree with what’s happening in my country. 99% didn’t do this, so why should I maintain a relationship with them? As for the other players, the European players who went to play there, if they want to say it’s politics, I don’t think it’s politics. I think it’s about simple things, a simple understanding of how this world works. This is definitely not politics, and this is their choice.”

Tsurenko lost to Aryna Sabalenko, who competes under a neutral flag, in the third round of the AO-2024 singles. Sabalenka herself previously represented Belarus and in her statements did not condemn Russia’s invasion (and at the same time Belarus’s complicity in this) in Ukraine.

Early in the morning of February 24, 2022, Russia fired rockets and aerial bombardment of most Ukrainian cities, and then launched a full-scale military invasion. The war against Russia has continued for the 695th day.