war in Ukraine
Former tennis pro Sergei Stakhovsky patrols in Kyiv: “Everyone is super motivated, but also angry”
Sergei Stakhovsky at the Open Sud de France 2021
© PanoramiC / Imago Images
He played tennis until January, now he is defending Kyiv. Former tennis pro Sergei Stakhovsky is very concerned about the fate of his home country Ukraine.
“When you hear Putin say that Ukraine never existed, that it was created by the Soviet Union, by Lenin, that it never had a history, then you understand: If Ukraine loses this war, it will be erased from all history books be,” said former tennis pro Sergej Stachowski of the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”. “It will disappear from the face of the earth as a country.”
Stachowski was a tennis pro until January, now the 36-year-old patrols as a territorial defense volunteer in the capital Kyiv to ensure order and security there. “Now we are at war with Russia and I understand that in order to control Ukraine they have to slaughter the majority of Ukrainians,” said the former athlete, whose family and three children live in Budapest.
Sergei Stakhovsky: “They slaughter families”
The mood among the volunteers in Kyiv is currently good, but everyone is also worried “about the other cities that are being devastated and where people are dying. Everyone is super motivated, but also angry and ready to take credit for the Russian army’s atrocities revenge for what they do to civilians. They slaughter families, kill civilians, rape,” Stachowski said.
He categorically rules out a capitulation by his home country. “It’s nice that some people think that surrender will stop the killing. But Germany of all people should know what price France and Poland paid when they surrendered.”