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Ukrainian tennis players Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk have expressed their shock and sadness after Russia launched a massive air attack on their country’s southern port city of Odesa on Sunday, July 23, killing one person, injuring nearly 20, and damaging an Orthodox cathedral.
Odesa, one of Ukraine’s main ports for exporting grain, has been under attack by Russia for two consecutive nights, following a blast on a bridge linking Russia to the Crimean Peninsula on Monday that Moscow blamed on Ukraine.
The cathedral that was hit by a Russian missile was the Transfiguration Cathedral, which dates back to the early 19th century and is one of the largest Orthodox churches in Ukraine. The cathedral is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is part of the historic center of Odesa.
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Svitolina and Kostyuk are both from Kyiv but have ties to Odesa. Svitolina was born in Odesa and lived there until she was 13 when she moved to Kharkiv to train at a tennis academy.
Both Svitolina and Kostyuk took to Instagram to share their reactions to the news of the Russian bombing of Odesa. Svitolina posted clips of the destruction on her Instagram story and captioned it:
"Odesa 😞."
Kostyuk also shared the same clip on her Instagram story and reacted with a string of emojis:
“😖😖😖😖.”
The Russo-Ukrainian War has escalated since February 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine from multiple directions.
The invasion has been met with resistance from Ukrainian forces and volunteers, as well as support from NATO and other countries. The war has caused thousands of casualties, millions of displaced people, and widespread damage to infrastructure and the environment.
"People are having horrible times in Ukraine right now, for me no excuses to complain because I have an amazing life" - Elina Svitolina
Elina Svitolina recently discussed the profound impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on her country. The 28-year-old tennis player expressed her feelings about the conflict during a recent interview, shedding light on the struggles her fellow Ukrainians were enduring back home.
"Yeah, it's been, when I wake up, I always check news," she said. "Every moment that I'm not on the court I'm checking how my family is doing, how the situation is in Ukraine, monitoring all the time what is happening and how me and my foundation, how we can help in that particular moment."
Elina Svitolina also acknowledged her own privileged life in contrast to the hardships faced by her compatriots in Ukraine. She added:
"This in many ways motivates me as well to go out there, to play, to practice, you know. People are having horrible times in Ukraine right now, and for me is no excuses to complain, because I have an amazing, an amazing life, I cannot complain. This in many ways motivates me to go and practice and train and be better every day."
