Kostyuk explained why he does not see the Russians as a brotherly people

The first number of the national team of Ukraine Martha Kostyuk He spoke of his attitude towards the concept of “fraternal peoples”.

– We have never considered Russians as our brothers in our family. They killed my great-grandfather. The Soviet regime mocked my grandparents for speaking Ukrainian. Our language has been suppressed for a long time, tried to be destroyed. Many are already familiar with the Holodomor of the 1930s. Many of our ancestors were taken to Siberia. We cannot forget these things.

And one more thing… There have been and are many wars in the world. But most are for region and power. Russia wants to destroy our language, our culture, the heart of our nation. It weakened us for a long time. It struck again when we recently lifted our heads and gained independence. But it brought us together. For example, my mother completely stopped using Russian. Now we are united, we understand who we are. But the cost is very high.

– How do you manage to concentrate on tennis and follow what’s going on at home?

– There are better days, there are worse. A series of shocking events sometimes pass me by. But there was something that completely stunned and paralyzed me. It made me sick for three days.

When I got the trophy in Austin, I said in my championship speech, “Thank you Ukraine!” I said. Then I saw a video of our soldier digging his own grave and shouting the same slogan. After that he is executed. He was killed for saying the same words as me…