WEBVTT - Made with VTT Creator 00:05.896 --> 00:17.526 position:50% align:middle On the day the war started, I was in the city of Kyiv. For me, the day started probably at 5:30 in the morning, approximately. I heard some strange sounds, I didn't understand what they were. 00:17.526 --> 00:30.919 position:50% align:middle I thought I was imagining things, but then a few minutes later I heard some more sounds. I got up, looked out the window, into the yard. I saw that a lot of people were already packing their bags, 00:30.919 --> 00:45.657 position:50% align:middle getting into their cars and driving somewhere. I didn't understand what was happening. I picked up my phone, opened social media and saw that Russia had started to invade our country. 00:45.657 --> 01:01.276 position:50% align:middle The same morning I went to our Liko swimming pool to train. I mean, it didn't really bother me, because we had a similar situation in Mariupol in 2014 and 2015. 01:01.276 --> 01:14.989 position:50% align:middle I mean, we sometimes heard shots and explosions there. But it was somewhere far away. That's why I didn't pay much attention to it and just went to training. 01:14.989 --> 01:29.071 position:50% align:middle And then they said: «Stas, what are you doing here? Go to your hotel, where you are now». And that was it. Then I started calling my parents in Mariupol, my friends. 01:29.071 --> 01:39.756 position:50% align:middle I mean, everyone was almost give or take calm. They said: «Well, they are shooting somewhere. For two or three days. It's nothing serious. Nothing. Everything is fine». 01:39.756 --> 01:58.519 position:50% align:middle But it seems that on March 2, there were problems with communication in the city. That is, there was shooting not only somewhere there, but also very serious shelling in the city. 01:58.519 --> 02:08.164 position:50% align:middle That is, they started dropping bombs from an aeroplane directly on the civilian population. On a maternity hospital, for example, 02:08.164 --> 02:21.796 position:50% align:middle or somewhere else, schools. Just on the civilian population. I mean, it's a horror. It's a feeling that is simply indescribable. I just lived in Telegram channels. I was looking for some information 02:21.796 --> 02:33.779 position:50% align:middle about the house where my mother and sister lived, my grandparents‘ house, my friends’ houses. That is, whoever could share, whoever had any information, it was a little bit 02:33.779 --> 02:48.339 position:50% align:middle reassuring when you read and see that yes, everything is fine with the house. So it's okay. I saw a video of the house where my grandparents live, where a shell hit them through four windows. 02:48.339 --> 03:02.737 position:50% align:middle They lived on the seventh floor. I didn't understand at all, maybe it was their apartment, maybe not. And then I saw that it was just passing by. But a few days later a shell hit their apartment. 03:02.737 --> 03:17.479 position:50% align:middle That is, they were simply not at home at that moment. Now the house is just black, it's burnt and burnt down. It's difficult. I had a mum and a sister. My father is my coach, 03:17.479 --> 03:29.489 position:50% align:middle so he was with me at the training camp at that moment. So he was in the same state as I was. That is, every day, every moment the bomb was dropped, 03:29.489 --> 03:40.357 position:50% align:middle they were just saying goodbye to each other, my mother and sister. I mean, you don't know when they will get there, where they will go. They are still recovering from that. 03:40.357 --> 03:49.309 position:50% align:middle They are safe now, but there is no day that goes by when they don't remember that moment, those periods. I was looking for people who could come in and out of Mariupol, 03:49.309 --> 04:00.286 position:50% align:middle but we just couldn't find them. Or they offered, I think, 2000-3000 dollars, «We will take you out». But where is the guarantee of this? No one gives this guarantee. 04:00.286 --> 04:12.732 position:50% align:middle So they left with my relatives, my aunt and uncle. It was also problematic to leave because a bullet hit the car on the way out. 04:12.732 --> 04:33.674 position:50% align:middle No one was injured, but still. They got to Zaporizhzhia and the car broke down there. Then they drove across Ukraine to a safe place, so to speak. I met them on May 8. 04:33.674 --> 04:52.778 position:50% align:middle I went to visit them in Poland right after the competition in Berlin. They live in a small town now. I was really looking forward to this meeting. I mean, we just burst into tears when we saw each other. 04:52.778 --> 05:06.658 position:50% align:middle But it is a very memorable moment, very pleasant and very difficult. They are gradually coming to their senses. It gets better, but sometimes it just hits you for a moment. 05:06.658 --> 05:16.317 position:50% align:middle These moments, these memories are terrible again. So they really want to go to Mariupol, to the peaceful Mariupol that was there before February 24. 05:16.317 --> 05:29.627 position:50% align:middle But for now, they are abroad. That's why it's like this for now. It's more than just a city. It's like a city of power for me, every time I come to Mariupol. 05:29.627 --> 05:39.959 position:50% align:middle I mean, the drama theatre, the pier by the sea, everything is very beautiful. I mean, I loved spending time there with my friends and family. 05:39.959 --> 05:53.691 position:50% align:middle Now it just still doesn't fit in my head that we probably won't get there in the coming years. But we believe in the best. We believe in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. 05:53.691 --> 06:07.968 position:50% align:middle We hope that this moment will come as soon as possible. It is very important for us, for every Ukrainian athlete who represents our country at international competitions, to win as many prizes as possible. 06:07.968 --> 06:24.063 position:50% align:middle To win, second, third. And to constantly remind the international community that the war is not over yet, that it continues. Our cities are shelled every day. Today, for example, just a few hours ago, 06:24.063 --> 06:36.465 position:50% align:middle there was an arrival in Vinnytsia. Again, civilians. What can we talk about? What military facilities are there? People were just living their lives. They were shelled. 06:36.465 --> 06:53.160 position:50% align:middle There are dead and injured. I would like to wish every Ukrainian patience, strength of spirit and moral fortitude. To believe in the best in any situation. To wait for that winning moment.