Russian athlete supported the Ukrainian team
An unexpected but very touching event took place during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games at the San Siro stadium in Milan. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
Russian Anastasiya Kucherova carried the placard of the Ukrainian national team during the ceremony. She announced this on her Instagram page and openly explained her decision in an interview with the Associated Press agency.
According to Kucherova, while walking alongside the Ukrainian athletes, she realized more deeply that they were experiencing strong emotions towards Russia. Nevertheless, she considered it important to take this step to show that "not all people think the same."
It is known that Kucherova has not been to Russia since 2018 and has been living in a suburb of Milan, Italy, for 14 years, working as an architect. The initiative to carry the Ukrainian team’s placard came from her.
Initially, the countries were randomly assigned, but later the choreographer asked the participants which country they wanted to represent. At that moment, Kucherova, who was born in Russia, chose Ukraine.
During the ceremony, Kucherova walked at the front carrying the placard in a silver-gray jacket, followed by the Ukrainian athletes. Among them were speed skater Yelizaveta Sidorko and figure skater Kirill Marsak.
It was noted that the fathers of both athletes are at the war front. Before the appearance, Kucherova said that the Ukrainian athletes noticed she was Russian and addressed her in Russian.
She perceived this as a sign of the "deep connection" between Russians and Ukrainians. Seeing the audience applaud the team while standing, Kucherova admitted that she could not hold back her tears.
Kucherova also emphasized that she understood her action might harm acquaintances remaining in Russia, but living in a democratic country and using her freedom to express her position was important to her. This event clearly demonstrated the strong impact of human choices beyond sports results.
This scene is sure to be discussed for a long time.
