The athlete was shocked by the reaction of Russian citizens to the actions of her government.
Ukrainian track and field athlete Anna Ryzhikova told how they reacted to Russian social networks on the military invasion of the Russian army in Ukraine.
“In fact, I received a lot of messages from the Russians, but not with words of support, but with the opposite content. In the first days I put up a post that was not even too aggressive, but I had so much. And yes, it is from athletes. I even I didn't know that so many people could find me on Instagram, then I realized how sad everything is.
We, like everyone, in the first days tried to show the truth, to tell what was happening, we wanted to reach people, who seem to trust us, because we competed in the same stadiums.
We tried to convey to everyone that we have a war. In response, they received fierce support from Europe and the world, and from Russia they said that it was all a fabrication that ordinary people could do nothing or received wishes for death. It's just savagery, “the Athletics Federation of Ukraine quoted Ryzhikov as saying.
The athlete stressed that now the difference between the two nations is obvious:
I have one athlete. He said that he understood what was happening, but was afraid for his family, so he could not make any statements or protests that all this would not help, because it is impossible to go against politics. And here I realized how different we are.
Ukrainians always defend their rights and freedoms, both in life and in sports. Now I am sure that none of the Ukrainians will even look in their direction. No matter how good people they are and no matter how much they sympathize with us, they are athletes, so they are thought leaders. And they are silent at the same time. “
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