Larisa Zhalinska said that she “returned to her historical homeland.”
Ukrainian rower Larisa Zhalinska, who served in the National Guard of Ukraine, fled to Russia.
This was reported by Tribuna.com.
Zhalinskaya, as a servicewoman, took advantage of her leave with the right to travel abroad, thanks to which she first went to Poland, and then through Belarus got to the Russian Federation.
In an interview with Russian propagandists, Larisa called her escape from Ukraine “a return to her historical homeland.”
“Today, many qualify my actions as an escape to Russia, but I would not consider it an escape. I would call it a return to my homeland, to my historical homeland. I am Russian by nationality, my hometown is the city of Primorsk in the Zaporizhzhya region of the Russian Federation, I have always been Russian-speaking.
It played into my hands that since the spring of 2024, female military personnel began to be granted leave with the right to travel abroad, including on tourist vouchers. Therefore, I purchased a tourist voucher to the Czech Republic. I also insured myself by applying for a second passport without notifying the military unit about it.
It was with this passport that I subsequently crossed the border. Earlier, with the help of Telegram channels and friends from Russia, I found carriers who transport from Lviv to Poland and there they help through special chats to find carriers who have already cross the Polish-Belarusian border. Also, with the help of friends from Russia, a ticket for the Minsk-Moscow plane was bought,” Zhalynska admitted.
Zhalynska is a multiple prize winner of the Ukrainian Rowing Championships, in particular, at the last Championships in 2024, she won two bronzes and a silver, in 2023 she had four golds.