“These are terrorists, they should not exist” - Vyr Podkopayeva said “hello” to her native Donetsk
A Ukrainian gymnast who moved to the USA, Honored Master of Sports of Ukraine, a native of Donetsk, Lilia Podkopaeva, complained that all her coaches who remained in their homeland support the DPR, and not the independent idea.
She stated this on the air of Lux FM radio, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“I am from Donetsk and since the 14th year we (living in Kyiv, - ed.) they have already called that we are Natsiks and we were jumping on the Maidan. When I started to explain and tried to convey why exactly this was happening, I met this wall that no one wanted to hear, so I couldn’t have anything close there anymore.
I miss Donetsk very much. I always say that Donetsk is Ukraine, a Ukrainian city. I believe that very soon it will all be one again,” said Podkopaeva.
“Do you still have friends there in Donetsk?” – asked the presenter.
“My coaches remained there, but they were already spoiled by propaganda. They are DPR. And this is very scary, because the DPR and LPR are terrorist organizations that should not exist. Of course, this had to be completed in 2014, but, probably, in 2014 our army was not ready yet,” the athlete believes.
She said that the people of Donetsk never liked Western Ukraine and the imposition of the Ukrainian language, but she has now even hired a tutor to teach the language.
“When Yanukovych fled, they (Donetsk residents - ed.) said that it was not constitutional. The Donetsk people were for their fellow countryman. When he was governor, a lot of good things were done, and they believed that he could do something good for Ukraine. When the Maidan began, and he ran like a coward. They had a struggle inside, they couldn't believe it.
Donetsk region on the border with Rostov. Therefore, this narrative that has always existed is that Western Ukraine is against the East, that they are trying to force the Ukrainian language on us.
Me too, you see my Ukrainian language, I really want to, I study with a teacher. I really want to speak well, beautifully, because this is the only language, this is our Ukrainian language,” said Vyr Podkopaeva.
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