Vadym Kolesnik: “They are destroying us, our rinks, while their athletes are doping and skating. Everyone responds, ‘Yes, Russia shouldn’t be allowed at international events. We support you, we agree with you.’ But no one says this publicly.”
Ukrainian-American figure skater Vadym Kolesnik has faced threats for his anti-Russian stance but is more concerned about declining support for Ukraine in the US, and he continues to speak out about the war and Russian athletes’ involvement in doping.
original source: Suspilne Sport dd. 10th January 2026 by Diana Trigub and Kateryna Makarevska
Ukrainian-American figure skater Vadym Kolesnik has faced threats due to his anti-Russian position, but what worries him more is the decreasing support for Ukraine in the United States. In a comment to Suspilne Sport, Kolesnik discussed how the sports community reacts to his statements and the connection between Russian athletes, the war, and doping. Here’s a translation of his comments.
The 2020 World Junior Champion, Vadym Kolesnik together with his partner Emily Zingas has become one of the leading athletes on the US national team at the senior level this season.
Despite being from Kharkiv and representing the US since 2017, he remains one of the few foreign skaters – especially among those from Ukraine – who still actively speaks out and spreads information about the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Vadym Kolesnik also opposes allowing Russians to compete, even under a neutral flag. However, he currently finds it difficult to find allies among other skaters. According to Vadym, such views are only supported in private conversations, while few are willing to speak out publicly.
“When I was at a show, I talked to people and said that [the Russians] are all ‘doping,’ they have ‘deals’ everywhere,” Vadym told Suspilne Sport. “They are destroying us, our rinks, while their athletes are doping and skating. Everyone responds: ‘Yes, Russia shouldn’t be allowed at international events. We support you, we agree with you.’ But no one says this publicly. Why? Why can’t you post on social media what you say to me?”
The skater admits that in the US, the reaction to events in Ukraine is no longer the same as before, “and that’s frightening,” since “people are dying, we are fighting for freedom, and America is a country of freedoms.”
The war has directly affected Kolesnik’s family. Vadym’s brother is currently serving in the Defense Forces, and in November 2024, Russian troops destroyed their family’s home during another shelling of Kharkiv.
“Russia is committing incredible and ruthless terror in Ukraine,” the skater wrote on his Instagram page after the incident. “The next time someone asks my opinion about Russia and Russian athletes, I will say exactly what I think.”
“I was supposed to go to Ukraine a week before the [full-scale] war started because I had exams at the university,” Vadym told Suspilne Sport. “But the war began, and I didn’t go. I haven’t seen some relatives for over four years – only via video calls. […] All my relatives are in Kharkiv, and I worry about them all. It’s scary when they’re there and you’re here. I post videos, trying to draw people’s attention to what’s happening. But it’s not the same as being with them and trying to support them.”
According to Kolesnik, he has received threats and messages like “We will find you” because of his anti-Russian stance.
“But I’m not afraid of that; they can’t do anything to me,” the athlete responds. “At least I’m here, while people [in Ukraine] are actually dying.”
Related topics: Vadym Kolesnik
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