“I woke up with a lot of feelings,” Medvedev said from Acapulco, where he reached the semi-finals of the Mexican tournament to face Rafael Nadal.
As for Nadal, he said after his thirteenth win in a row since the beginning of the current season: “It’s sad news. I don’t want to talk about the culprits or the problem, but in the century we are in, I don’t believe there are wars. I can’t understand it. I hope it ends soon As soon as possible. The only thing I want is for there to be as few casualties as possible, as few casualties as possible.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced, at dawn on Thursday, a military operation in Ukraine in defense of pro-Moscow separatists in the east of this country.
And the other Russian star, Andrei Rublev, ranked seventh in the world, previously commented on what is happening, calling on the sidelines of his participation in the Dubai Games for “peace”, considering his victory and his qualification to the semi-finals “not important” in view of what is happening.
After qualifying for the semi-finals, he said: “You realize how important it is for there to be peace in the world, to respect each other no matter what happens, and to be united. It is about taking care of the planet and each other. It is the most important thing.”
“At these moments, we realize that the match is not important. What is happening is much worse,” Rublev was quoted by AFP as saying.
Rublev republished in the “Stories” feature via “Instagram”, the post of his fellow footballer Fyodor Smolov, who put a completely black image and wrote: “No to war,” adding the Ukrainian flag and a red broken heart. He also shared another post, drawing two characters in the colors of the flags of Ukraine and Russia.
Commenting on what is happening between the two neighbors, the International Olympic Committee condemned Thursday “the Russian government’s violation of the Olympic armistice”.
Swiss-Italian FIFA President Gianni Infantino also expressed his concern about the “tragic and frightening” situation in Ukraine, adding at a press conference: “I was shocked by what I saw. I am very concerned about this situation. FIFA condemns the use of force.”
It is expected that Russia will host Poland in the qualifying match for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on March 24, and if it beats its opponent, it will meet the winner of the Czech-Sweden match on the 29th, knowing that the federations of these teams demanded that their matches be moved to Russian soil in a joint statement.