“It’s just such a tragedy,” Victoria Petrenko said of the crisis in Ukraine, her voice choking with emotion. “He says he is trying to stay inside. For now everything is OK. I tried to get him to leave, but I don’t think the border situation is easy. I hope he can leave safely soon. “
Updated March 1, 2022, 8:38 pm ET
Asked to comment on the ban on Russian skaters, Galina Zmievskaya, a native of Ukraine and former coach of Petrenko, who now teaches at the Ice House in Hackensack, New Jersey, said in a statement: “It’s bigger than figure skating right now. We see a country being destroyed and innocent lives in danger every second.
Zmievskaya, who also coached Oksana Bayul from Ukraine until the 1994 Olympic gold medal, added: “We are all deeply saddened and have no words to see this tragedy unfold. The most important thing we are thinking about right now is to help the people of this beautiful country and to achieve peace. “
The ban on Russian skaters came a day after athletes from the country were banned from competing in international football and hockey competitions. The International Olympic Committee has demanded that all sports governing bodies not invite or allow Russian athletes to compete.
The war between Russia and Ukraine: key things you need to know
Map 1 of 4Russian convoy. Satellite images show a Russian military convoy stretching 40 miles north of Kyiv, with burning homes and buildings nearby. Experts fear the convoy could be used to encircle and cut off the capital or to carry out a full-scale attack.
Migration wave. At least 660,000 people, most of them women and children, have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, according to the UN refugee agency. This is the most intense wave of European migration since at least the 1990s.
Tom Zakrajsek, an American figure skating coach, said in a text message that the sanction against Russian skaters “seems perfectly appropriate.” He continued: “Logically, I don’t think they could have made another choice.”
The ban, imposed by the International Skating Union, came despite the fact that its vice-president, Alexander Lakernik of Russia, is a powerful figure on the governing body. In short, Lakernick said he could not comment, given his position in the organization.
Tamara Moskvina, a couples coach whose skaters won Olympic medals from 1984 to 2022, skewedly criticized the ban in a telephone interview from St. Petersburg, Russia, saying: “Read the ISU Code of Ethics, which states that ISU cannot take into account differences in race, politics, religion, etc., and then you will know whether the “ban” coincides with the measures taken by ISU or not.
