Belarusian tennis star and former world number one Victoria Azarenka admitted she is devastated by the suffering of Ukrainian people amid the Russian invasion.
Over 2,000 Ukrainian civilians have reportedly died in the conflict while hundreds of buildings including homes, hospitals, kindergartens and transport facilities have been destroyed, according to Ukraine ’s emergency service.
Azarenka took to social media to declare her dismay and great sadness at the events, with her native Belarus acting alongside Russia as a key staging area for their troops mounting the invasion.
“I’m devastated by the actions that have taken place over the last several days against and in Ukraine,” Azarenka wrote in a statement on Twitter. “It's heartbreaking to see how many innocent people have been affected and continue to be affected by such violence.
“Since my early childhood, I have always seen and experienced Ukrainian and Belarusian people, as well as both nations, friendly and supportive of one another. It is hard to witness the violent separation that is currently taking place instead of supporting and finding compassion for each other.”
Following the start of the invasion last week, Russian and Belarusian teams and athletes have found themselves frozen out from international competitions across the sporting landscape.
FIFA and UEFA have banned Russian teams and clubs from all their competitions until further notice, ruling them out of the men's World Cup in Qatar later this year and the Women's European Championships in England this summer. Russian club Spartak Moscow have also been expelled from the Europa League, while UEFA has terminated its sponsorship deal with energy firm Gazprom.
The Ukrainian Tennis Federation called on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to expel Russia and Belarus from the organisation and ban Russia from individual and team tournaments. The ITF confirmed that athletes from the two countries will be able to compete in international Tour events under a neutral flag.
Two-times Grand Slam champion Azarenka concluded her statement by wishing for peace, adding: “My heart is with everyone directly and indirectly impacted by this war that is causing such pain and suffering for so many.
“I hope and wish for peace and an end to the war.”
The United Nations has estimated over 870,000 people have left Ukraine to flee the invasion since Vladimir Putin began the conflict last Thursday.
