The home of Ukrainian figure skater Kirill Marsak was destroyed in a strike on Kherson
Ukrainian figure skater and 2026 Olympic Games participant Kirill Marsak reported that his family home in Kherson had been destroyed. According to him, the house was destroyed as a result of yet another attack by Russian drones. The athlete shared the news on social media.
According to the athlete, a direct hit by an enemy drone caused a massive fire that destroyed about 90% of the apartments in the building where he grew up. The most terrible and painful loss from this attack was the death of an elderly woman—the grandmother of his longtime best friend. She was trapped in the fire and could not escape from the burning building.
This brutal blow was yet another loss for the skater’s family: Russian shelling had previously damaged his home and completely destroyed the Kherson ice arena, where Marsak once began his journey in competitive sports. Currently, his father is defending Ukraine in the ranks of the Armed Forces, while part of the family remains in Kherson, and the skater himself is forced to train and prepare for competitions far from home.
Against the backdrop of his personal tragedy, Marsak has sharply criticized those international sports officials who are trying to allow representatives of the aggressor country to return to competitions.
“And once again, there is talk of allowing Russian representatives to participate in international competitions. This is so cynical on the part of those who so insistently demand the return of Russian figure skaters. The only thing they can represent is pain, destruction, and death. If you can tolerate that, you are a monster,” he wrote on his Instagram.
On Thursday, June 4, Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk, who defeated Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals, will play in the semifinals of the 2026 French Open. The Ukrainian’s opponent will be Russian Mira Andreeva. The match will determine one of the finalists of the prestigious Grand Slam tournament in Paris.
Svitolina also confidently defeated an American player and advanced to the round of 16 at Indian Wells.
Sobolenko lost in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros.
