“There were a few offers, but we settled on Belarus. For me, the mindset is more familiar here, and I don’t have to learn new languages,” he said.
“People here know me, respect me, and have been inviting me for a long time. Let me put it this way: the people I interact with here are diverse, and many of them don’t like Russia—and to some extent, even hate it. Overall, attitudes toward the local regime vary; there are a lot of different opinions. I don’t consider them enemies; perhaps others have a different view. I’ve been around for a long time and know a lot. Back then, everyone was friends, and then suddenly they became enemies. No one asked themselves how it happened, what changed in people? I don’t know if they [the drones] are flying from Belarus; I doubt it. But Belarus and Russia are allied states.”
The 62-year-old coach, a Merited Coach of Ukraine since 2011, is best known for coaching gymnast Ihor Radivilov, the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist and multiple European and world championship medalist.