World champion Vlada Kharkivska: my home in Kyiv damaged by Russian shelling

News of destruction arrived en route

World champion in foil fencing Vlada Kharkivska published a post on her Instagram stating that her home in Kyiv had been damaged by a Russian attack. This information did not reach the athlete immediately, but while she was travelling.

Initially, the train the fencer was taking to a competition was stopped in the middle of the night due to an air raid alert. Passengers were evacuated, and they had to spend almost two hours in the cold. The next day, while at Budapest airport before departing for Casablanca, Vlada learned that her home had been damaged.

“In what terrible reality are we living”

In the post, the athlete shared her emotions, noting that her apartment had been saved, which was one of the few cases of a home surviving.

«Моя квартира ціла. Одна з небагатьох, що вціліла. Цього разу мені «пощастило». Подумайте про це. Мене вважають щасливою, бо моя квартира вціліла після російського обстрілу. У якій жахливій реальності ми живемо, якщо це ми називаємо удачею?» (My apartment is intact. One of the few that survived. This time I was “lucky”. Think about that. I am considered lucky because my apartment survived after Russian shelling. In what terrible reality are we living if we call this luck?) — wrote Vlada Kharkivska.

Demand to recognise the aggressor

The world champion also drew attention to the difficult situation of Ukrainian athletes, who are expected to observe standard etiquette and perform as if nothing is happening at international tournaments. Meanwhile, Russia continues to destroy their homes and forces them to hide from missiles.

«Коли ти стоїш на морозі о четвертій ранку, бо тебе можуть убити — це не політика. Коли вибух пошкоджує будівлю, яку ти називаєш своїм домом — це не політика. Коли ти не знаєш, чи буде в тебе дім, до якого можна повернутися після змагань, — це не політика. Це війна. І в ній є очевидний агресор: Росія» (When you are standing in the frost at four in the morning because you might be killed — that is not politics. When an explosion damages the building you call your home — that is not politics. When you do not know if you will have a home to return to after competitions — that is not politics. This is war. And there is an obvious aggressor in it: Russia) — emphasised the fencer.

Vlada Kharkivska’s sporting achievements

Vlada Kharkivska is the 2025 world champion and two-time European champion. Her record also includes a silver medal at the 2019 European Team Championship and victories at World Cup stages.