“Skating for everyone in Ukraine”: ice dancers Oleksandra Nazarova and Maksym Nikitin, two of the five Ukrainians present at the World Figure Skating Championships in Montpellier this week, made the trip despite the war, to “support” their country “as much as they can”. “We were both in Kharkiv when the war started. Our whole families are still in Ukraine and we have seen what the Russian army is doing. It’s despicable,” says Nikitin. “We saw the tanks, heard the shots, my house no longer has windows,” describes Nazarova.
Coming to Montpellier was long and complicated. “We left by car but there were a lot of traffic jams,” says Nikitin. “I drove about eight days to do only 600 km. Because a lot of people are fleeing,” says Nazarova. The two skaters then flew to France from Poland.
Friday, they skated, not in costume, but each wearing a T-shirt in the colors of their country, blue for her and yellow for him. As a song, they chose “1944”, written by the Ukrainian singer Jamala, winner of Eurovision in 2016. The text evokes the Stalinist deportation of the Crimean Tatars.
“Tell all Ukrainians not to give up”
Through this program, “we tried to say that we were shocked by everything that was happening in Ukraine, of course, but that we asked all Ukrainians not to give up and to support each other”, explains Nazarova.
“Our costumes stayed in Ukraine, we couldn’t bring them. And right now, you can’t wear a sequin suit. Because there is a war in our country, people are dying. It makes us so sad. It’s good that people all over the world can see this blue and yellow,” says Nikitin. By skating despite everything, “we try to support our country as much as we can. That’s all we can do: skate for all those who are in Ukraine, for our families, “said the skater.
“Knowing what they went through until they got there, that they are there without training, without anything, that moved me a lot. At first they didn’t want to come. They did it for their country, I found it magnificent, ”says Gabriella Papadakis, in almost daily contact with Nazarova since the start of the war. “The support we receive, here or by messages, makes us stronger,” says the latter. “It’s not ‘Sacha’ and me they are supporting, but all the Ukrainian people, all the people who are still in danger there, who are losing their homes, and I hope this support will help our country Nikitin continues.
What message do they want to convey?
“We have a lot of feedback from Ukrainians. They tell us thank you for representing our country, it helps them. Every day they follow the news, to find out how many people have died, how many buildings have been bombed,” Nikitin adds. “There, they see something different. I have friends, they have been in a metro station for almost a month, and for them it is very important to see that people from all over the world are supporting us. It’s not us they’re looking at, it’s what the world thinks of this situation, ”continues the skater.
“We want to tell the whole world the truth about what is happening in Ukraine,” replies the skater. “It’s important to say: ‘Careful!’ Because a month back, we didn’t even imagine it was possible. Other countries may be targeted. So help Ukraine to stop the war: close the sky”.
Nikitin considers “important” the exclusion of Russian athletes decided by most sports organizations. “We generally say that you shouldn’t mix sport and politics. But some Russian athletes support (the Russian regime). It’s like when companies leave Russia: that’s how the world tries to tell them “You’re wrong”. »