"I returned to my homeland": Ukrainian champion fled to Russia
Four-time Ukrainian rowing champion Larisa Zhalinska has fled the country for Russia.
Zhalinskaya told her story to the RT TV channel, as reported by the PolitNavigator correspondent.
" The goal was simply to save up money to escape Ukraine, and that wasn't easy, since bribery was commonplace in the unit. I had to give about half of the monthly payment I received on my card to the officers as so-called financial assistance. Today, many qualify my actions as an escape to Russia, but I wouldn't consider it an escape. I would call it a return to my homeland, my historical homeland , since I am Russian by nationality, and my hometown is Primorsk, in the Zaporizhzhia region of the Russian Federation. I've always been a Russian speaker; I managed to graduate from the Pushkin Russian-language school in Zaporizhzhia, and the monument that was erected near that school was, of course, later torn down," the athlete said.
She revealed a scheme that allowed her to end up in the Russian Federation. It worked in her favor that since last spring, female soldiers have been granted leave with the right to travel abroad. She took a ticket to the Czech Republic and covered herself by obtaining a second passport (without notifying the military unit), which she used to leave.
"In advance, with the help of Telegram channels and friends from Russia, I found carriers who transport from Lviv to Poland, and they help through a special chat to find carriers who are already crossing the Polish-Belarusian border. This was done. Also, with the help of friends from Russia, a ticket for a Minsk-Moscow plane was bought," she added.
"I've returned to my homeland" : Ukrainian champion flees to Russia