Elina Svitolina sends strongly worded message about Ukrainian children reportedly taken to Russia amid war

Modified Apr 19, 2025 04:05 GMT

Paris 2024 - Preparations - Source: Getty — Elina Svitolina sends strongly worded message about Ukrainian children taken to Russia during war (Source: Getty Images)

Elina Svitolina made her stance clear on the return of Ukrainian children forcefully deported to Russia amid the war. The Ukrainian tennis player stated clearly that all children should be returned to their homeland without any compromise.

Svitolina has been vocal about the war and its repercussions on her country since Russia's invasion of Ukraine took place in February 2022. The former World No. 3 was one of the first to adopt the practices of not shaking hands with her Russian and Belarusian opponents during tennis matches as a sign of protest against the war.

During the Easter festivities, Svitolina took to social media to highlight how Ukrainian children have been forcibly taken to Russia during the conflict and are having their identities altered. Along with the Government Organization Bring Kids Back UA, the tennis star made a clear declaration stating that the release of children should be pursued without any compromise and that it was an essential part of the peace process between the two countries.

"The return of all Ukrainian children must be a non-negotiable element of the ongoing peace process. I’m sharing this today to say clearly: #ChildrenAreNonNegotiable @BringKidsBackUA," she said (Via X)

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During her Australian Open campaign, Svitolina had hailed the spirits of the Ukrainian soldiers and stated that her never-die attitude on the court was a result of her Ukrainian heritage.

Elina Svitolina is currently in action at the Open de Rouen

On the court, Elina Svitolina's performances so far this season have been middling. The Ukrainian reached two high-profile quarterfinals at the Australian Open and the BNP Paribas Open, but lost to Madison Keys and Mirra Andreeva, respectively.

Svitolina was part of the Ukrainian team that got past the qualifying stages of the Billie Jean King Cup, as she won both her singles ties. Currently, she is at the Open de Rouen and has reached the semifinal with straight set wins over the likes of Jill Teichmann, Anhelina Kalinina, and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. The top seed will now face Elena Gabriela Ruse in the last four, against whom she has a 2-0 head-to-head record.

Svitolina is looking to reach her first Tour-level final since the ASB Classic last year, which she lost to Coco Gauff last year. The Ukrainian last won a title on Tour at the Internationaux de Strasbourg in 2023, with a win over Anna Blinkova in the final.

About the author

Sagnik, a Mass Communication and Journalism graduate, is a tennis journalist at Sportskeeda. Before finding his spot in the tennis writing team, he worked as a junior content specialist for academic content writing firms for a couple of years.

Before putting out any information in the public domain, Sagnik makes sure that every element of his content is well-researched and backed with credible data so that there is no misinterpretation of facts or quotes and ethical standards are maintained. To do so, Sagnik follows reputed websites like the Tennis Channel and Tennis TV, and renowned journalists on social media.

He is a fan of former player Roger Federer, and just like his favorite player, Sagnik likes to bring perfection to his write-ups by providing concise and on-point content. Speaking of the ‘GOAT’ debate, Sagnik believes that it is a bit unfair to compare the legends of the game from different eras who have played on different terms. But if he were to pick one, he’d go for Novak Djokovic based on his tally of 24 Grand Slam titles.

When not writing about tennis and technically analyzing the sport, which he believes are his 'forte', Sagnik indulges in reading books.

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Edited by Pratham K Sharma