Since the Russian invasion, many Ukrainian sportspeople have used their power on social media with their many followers, and shown their anger at the situation, sharing what's happening in their country with the world, demanding that Russian President Vladimir Putin stop the war.
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One of them is the judoka Georgii Zantaria, who has won six World Championship medals (including gold in 2009) and four European Championship medals (including three gold). On Monday he caused a storm when he posted a story in which he was holding a Kalashnikov, alongside the caption, "I'm in Kiev and I'm staying until the end."
"I'm fine and my family is fine, but the situation in Ukraine is very difficult and dangerous," Zantaria says in an exclusive interview with Israel Hayom. Explaining the extraordinary picture that he published: "I didn't go out to war, but I don't want people coming to us at home, I'm ready to defend my country."
Q: What responses did you receive to your picture with the rifle?
"I received many responses from all over the world, some of them saying that I'm brave and that I should take care of myself, there were also those saying that I shouldn't be getting involved, but I am here in order to do what is necessary. I also received responses from Russians saying that I'm 'crazy,' not good things, but they're the crazy ones, they don't understand what's happening here."
Q: Can you hear the explosions from the war?
"All of us see and hear the explosions all the time, both during the day and also at night, it's hard for us to sleep, but we will win."
Q: How can all this end?
"I expect Russian sportspeople to discover the truth and to tell their president to stop. But that still isn't the situation. They don't know what we have here, we've already got many dead women and children, you can see in clips how many citizens' homes have been damaged, full of people leaving their homes and many of them won't have anywhere to return to."
Q: Do you think that the International Olympic Committee and the International Judo Federation have acted appropriately until now?
"I expect the IJF to take serious steps against the Russian president."
Q: Do you need help, maybe from the Israeli Judo Federation?
"At the moment no, we have everything, but, when this all ends, we'll need help to recover and we'll also need help in judo. Many people are writing to me from Israel and I thank them a lot for their support, and I hope that this situation ends as quickly as possible."
Q: Do you have a final message?
"This war needs to end as quickly as possible; you have also had wars and you understand us. I love Israel and the people there, and I thank everyone for the support."
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