A photo taken of Ksenia Ustinova began to spread in Russia.
Ukrainian flags caused outrage in Russia. AOP
Russian pole dancer Ksenia Ustinova attracted attention in his home country after posing on the podium with two Ukrainians.
On her own Instagram account, Ustinova shared a photo of herself standing without a flag between two of her competitors holding the Ukrainian flag at the World Championships in December.
The Russian Ustinova won the championship. Ukrainians Evelina Borzenko and Sofia Goloborodko took second and third place.
The world champion was not allowed to bring the Russian flag to the award ceremony, as he was competing as a “neutral athlete”. Russia was excluded from the Games because of the war in Ukraine.
The picture that spread on Social Media got a lot of attention in Russia. Many Russians consider the situation provocative. Several comments from Russians showing support for the athlete have accumulated under the picture published by Ustinova.
Now Ustinova tells for Sport24 that he is upset about the situation.
– It’s really sad that we compete without a flag, because I love my country very much and I want to show where such strong athletes come from. I am really sad that my popularity did not come from the victory, but from such a provocative picture with two Ukrainian athletes, Ustinova commented to a Russian newspaper.
According to Ustinova, the Ukrainian team has been forbidden to have anything to do with Russian athletes. He says that the Ukrainians don’t even look at the Russians at the games.
– Of course I am happy with my victory, but of course I felt pressure when Ukrainian flags were spread next to me. But the most important thing is that I won. I’m not second or third, Ustinova adds.
