Ukrainian skaters' migration to other countries

Dobre said:
Going through the list of dancers for Junior Worlds today, which made me wonder about Pinchuk & Pogorielov, whose skating I quite liked on the JGP this season. I went back through this thread & gather they are safe. Do we know where they are now? Are they training somewhere?

*I can't see the link above because I don't have Instagram.
Click to expand...
I think I read somewhere that they are with a coach in Austria.
 
Update on the families of the U.S./Ukrainian-born pair team of Anastasiia "Nastyia" Smirnova and Danil Siianytsia (competing at Junior Worlds in Tallinn next week) in @clairecloutier's article:
usfigureskatingfanzone.com

Smirnova and Siianytsia Confront a Season of Adversity - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

In April, Team USA pairs skaters Anastasiia "Nastyia" Smirnova and Danil Siianytsia will compete for the second time at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating
usfigureskatingfanzone.com usfigureskatingfanzone.com
Relevant excerpt:
Both Siianytsia and Smirnova were born and raised in the city of Dnipro, in central-eastern Ukraine. Although the two skaters moved to the United States in 2016 and 2018 to pursue their skating careers, their families remained in the Dnipro area. Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Smirnova and Siianytsia have been forced to follow events from afar as their families have faced dangerous conditions in Ukraine.
"It's pretty sad," Siianytsia said. "It's terrifying for our family. We have a couple people still in Ukraine."
In March, Siianytsia's mother and his four-year-old sister evacuated to Poland, where they are staying at a hotel for refugees. Smirnova's mother also went to Poland, before continuing on to Turkey. Both Smirnova's father and Siianytsia's stepfather are still in the Dnipro area, which has suffered shelling from Russian forces.
Fortunately, the skaters have been able to keep in touch with their families, despite the difficult conditions.
"We text and call," Siianytsia said.
"The communication has been pretty solid," added Oltmanns, the duo's coach. "Which doesn't make it any less scary."
Click to expand...
 
airgelaal said:
I think I read somewhere that they are with a coach in Austria.
Click to expand...
I was right. They are in Austria. And they took part in a show "Skating for Ukraine". Another couple from Ukraine took part in the show, as well as Austrian figure skaters. This is so touching 😹

www.facebook.com

EisTeam Salzburg

💙💛 Skating for Ukraine 💙💛 In blau-gelben Farben zeigten große Eiskunststars und kleine Eissternchen ein buntes Programm bei unserem Benefizschaulaufen für die Ukraine! Wir bedanken uns 💛-lichst...
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
 
N/N still seem to be in Romania with Dancing On Ice. But I think the final of the show is tomorrow and then it will be done.

On this page https://a1.ro/dancing-on-ice-vis-in...-gavril-eu-am-emotii-de-aseara-id1071521.html there's an 11 minute clip where you can see them quite a lot coaching the contestants. :) They look like they're having at least a relatively good time and it's nice to know that maybe doing this show has provided them some distraction from constantly thinking about all the horror, especially now with the news yesterday that their home rink got bombed. :fragile:
 
Anastasiia Smirnova/Danil (Danylo) Siianytsia's end-of-season message: https://www.instagram.com/p/CcvkIN4L6mz/

Our 2022 Season
We tested positive for Covid and Danil was very ill for weeks.We had to withdraw from the US Championships, where we had hoped to be on the podium as first year Seniors. We were so well trained and ready. This was a devastating blow to us. Complications of long Covid kept us off of the ice until the beginning of February. Unfortunately, just over a week into training, Danil developed other health problems which took us off of the ice again. February 24 the war in Ukraine broke out. We are both from Dnipro as are our families. People process grief very differently, and taking to social media at that time was not something that either of us was prepared to do.This is a most difficult time for both us. Our grandparents, fathers and step fathers are still holding out in apartments and are in danger. Our mothers have fled to safety in other countries.Our season was over and we were just trying to navigate our own grief for our friends and family. We did not officially withdraw from World Juniors because there were no other eligible teams to replace us. One week before Junior Worlds, we decided to return to the ice and try and compete and do our best. Although we didn’t have the free skate we had hoped for, we are actually thrilled to have earned a small medal in the short program and to be 4th in the World. We are so grateful for all of the support we received from U.S.Figure Skating, all of our support team, friends, family and especially our coach. The support we have received this season has been one of the greatest experiences of our career.From Tallinn, Danil was able to get to a refugee location last week to see some of his family. Nastyia’s mom was able to get into Tallinn to visit her from Poland. It was a very emotional week for all of us.When we arrived home, we were greeted by our new teammates Sonia and George and their parents, who were able to flee Kiev and are now living and training here with us in Minnesota.We have just finished a great show with the Marquette FSC and now we will rest and prepare for a new season.We pray for a peaceful end to the war in Ukraine and safety for all in harm’s way.

Nastyia and Danil

(ETA - just saw that this link was posted by @shan in the U.S. Pairs news thread)
 
Ivan Shmuratko and Andrii Kokura found shelter in France :cheer2:

www.instagram.com

Andrii Kokura on Instagram: "Thank to @club.olympique.courbevoie & @nathalie_laurent_depouilly for having us in such difficult time 🇺🇦 we re continuing our preparation for the next competitions"

964 likes, 16 comments - andriikokura on April 27, 2022: "Thank to @club.olympique.courbevoie & @nathalie_laurent_depouilly for having us in such difficult time 🇺🇦 we re continuing our preparation for the next competitions".
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
airgelaal said:
Ivan Shmuratko and Andrii Kokura found shelter in France :cheer2:

www.instagram.com

Andrii Kokura on Instagram: "Thank to @club.olympique.courbevoie & @nathalie_laurent_depouilly for having us in such difficult time 🇺🇦 we re continuing our preparation for the next competitions"

964 likes, 16 comments - andriikokura on April 27, 2022: "Thank to @club.olympique.courbevoie & @nathalie_laurent_depouilly for having us in such difficult time 🇺🇦 we re continuing our preparation for the next competitions".
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
Click to expand...
Ivan has been there since Worlds, he was in Denys Strekalin's birthday post a few weeks ago. It's really nice to see :)
 
Link to this GSD thread with info on how you can help Ukrainian skaters directly if you'd like:

Announce: Help Ukrainian skaters directly

Hi everyone, we just launched Skate Ukraine Direct Help project. If you want to help Ukrainian figure skaters, but are not sure how - check it out. Every Ukrainian skater/coach who needs help, can fill a request and self-report what help do they seek, how much and what for. We verify that the...
www.fsuniverse.net

Story about a 7-year-old Ukrainian boy and his mother who are living with a family in Bristol, England:
news.sky.com

Ukraine war: Young skater who fled war-torn country for UK appeals for new ice skating coach to continue his dream

The boy's father took a perilous journey to Kyiv to retrieve his ice skates - on a train after dark, with no lights, so as not to draw the attention of Russian troops who have been bombing trains.
news.sky.com news.sky.com
 
Last edited:
Posting this article here even though the pair team of Sofiia Holichenko and Artem Darenskyi are back in Ukraine:
www.goldenskate.com

Holichenko and Darenskyi push forward with nerves of steel

Editor’s note: On February 24, 2022, approximately 150,000 of Russia’s “peace-keeping” troops and tanks spilled over the borders of Ukraine, violating the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country in […]
www.goldenskate.com www.goldenskate.com
Excerpts:
The team left Ukraine to compete at the 2022 World Junior Figure Skating Championships where they ultimately withdrew. They then went to Poland for a bit to train before returning to Dnieper in May to resume training under their coach, Liliia Batutina.
“The war has affected all those who live in Ukraine,” noted Darenskyi. “Life has become more difficult and unexpected. Sirens buzz and missiles explode every day. It’s hard to see that people and children die every day and it’s hard to see that people who live in Russia see it and are silent or support it.”
“Many people left,” added Holichenko. “Friends, relatives, and there is no opportunity to see both friends and parents. I have not seen my father for a very long time, the last time in February. It breaks my heart for what the Russians did to Mariupol, Kharkov, Bucha, Gostomel, and many more cities. We all hope that this will end soon. We will also work hard to adequately represent Ukraine in competitions. To prove that we are fighting, we are strong and Ukrainians will cope with everything!”
Click to expand...
The 2022 National Champions are hoping to compete this upcoming season and are currently working on new elements and programs.
“City Hall has given us ice for free and this helps very much!” said Darenskyi. “Our goal is to show that there is figure skating in Ukraine and it will develop despite the war. We also want our people to see that athletes are also fighting. We want people to know what is happening in Ukraine.”
Holichenko and Darenskyi will use the short program from last season set to “Alive” by the Ukrainian group The Hardkiss, while the free skate will be to a cover compilation of compositions from Nirvana.
“It was a gift from Hugo Chouinard,” Holichenko said of the short program music. “He arranged this music for us and we performed it at the 2022 World Championships. We liked it very much and we decided to leave it for the next season.
“For the free skate, we thought about this music for a long time,” she added. “We liked it and we wanted to put a free program under it. We were offered more options and we put together several compositions.”
Click to expand...
 
June 28th GS article by Paula Slater:
www.goldenskate.com

Ukraine's Anastasia Gozhva adapts in Tallinn

Editor's note: On February 24, 2022, approximately 150,000 of Russia's "peace-keeping" troops and tanks spilled over the borders of Ukraine, violating the
www.goldenskate.com

Ivan Shmuratko posted 10 photos from Dortmund, Germany on June 18: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce9JHlGokK8/
So happy to announce our collaboration with Adam Solya for the next season free skating!
It was such a magic experience and I'm very grateful for the opportunity to create with you🎨

p.s. I know that everyone are curious about the music, but I will give you time to guess it (:
Click to expand...
 
As I didn't see it posted before - google translated

Some Ukrainian Junior skaters have been chosen for ISU scholarships:

"At the request of the national federation, singles players Kyrylo Marsak, Vadim Novikov, Anastasia Fomchenkova, sports couple Violetta Serova/Ivan Khobta, as well as two dance duets Maria Pinchuk/Mykyta Pogorelov and Iryna Pidgayna/Artem Koval became scholarship recipients."

 
airgelaal said:
According to UFSF Ukrainian dance pair Maria Holubtsova/Kirill Bielobrov are training in Canada.
Click to expand...
Thanks! They've registered to compete at the Quebec Summer Championships in Pierrefonds, August 4-7, as mentioned in the Dance Hall discussion thread: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...ma-samba-2022-2023.109753/page-2#post-6274788

30-minute video interview by @Eislauffan with Ivan Shmuratko in Oberstdorf (uploaded on July 5): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=315GZ2ngcbI
 
victorskid said:
Ice Academy of Montreal (I.AM) have tweeted about Maria Holubtsova/Kirill Bielobrov who have been training there (with a lot of help) and who apparently hope to make that a more permanent situation. There is a Go Fund Me which has been linked by I.AM.
The start of the Twitter thread: https://twitter.com/montreal_ice/status/1552650584892645378
The Go Fund Me: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-mariiakyryl
Click to expand...
And more details in the new GS article by Paula Slater
www.goldenskate.com

Ukraine's Holubtsova and Bielobrov thrive in Montreal

Editor’s note: On February 24, 2022, approximately 150,000 of Russia’s “peace-keeping” troops and tanks spilled over the borders of Ukraine, violating the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country in […]
www.goldenskate.com www.goldenskate.com
 
Kyrylo Marsak, 17, created a GFM page today: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-ukrainian-athletes

Hi, my name is Kyrylo Marsak.
I'm a Ukrainian National Team figure skater, National Junior champion 2022, Junior World Championship 2022 and EYOF 2022 competitor from Kherson, Ukraine. For the last four years I had been living and practicing in Kyiv.
In March 2022 due to the war in my country I was forced to leave Ukraine to continue training and competing. My first stop was in Torun, Poland, second in Riga, Latvia and final one is in Finland.
Here I practice in the city of Laukaa with the generous help of my coaching team headed by Alina Mayer-Virtanen. Also we cooperate with my coach from Kyiv Dmitry Shkidchenko.
Me and my team have comprehensive plans for this year to represent Ukraine at the international stage the best way I can. And to implement our plans I need a help with fundraising- for practicing abroad and represent my country around the world.

I'm thankful to each of you for the financial help and sharing my GofundMe page to the world.

Sincerely yours,
Kyrylo Marsak

Link to his ISU bio: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00107121.htm
 
Nastia Arkhypova returned home since her home ice rink is working. But during the air raid, everyone must leave the skating rink. Now alarms do not sound as often in Kyiv as before, but still...
Unfortunately, the figure skaters from Kharkiv have nowhere to return. And it's still very unsafe there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top
Do Not Sell My Personal Information