Ivan Tkachenkon his gaze is closely on the phone screen when he arrives for an interview with Sport in Töölö.
However, Tkachenko, 24, does not browse Instagram or Snapchat but relentlessly follows the events in his country. Tkachenko still has numerous friends and family members in Ukraine.
Ukrainian basketball player and his family found refuge in Helsinki when the head coach of Seagulls, who plays in the basketball league, Jussi Laakso contacted the Finnish NBA star Lauri Markkasen acting as an agent Michael Lelchitsky. The wheels started to spin.
Tkachenko was just making his debut for the Ukrainian national team in the World Cup qualifiers in Cordoba, Spain, when the world of Ukrainians came to a halt on 24 February. The entire national team was awake from five in the morning and received creepy news from their homeland after Russia launched the attack.
– My mother called from four in the morning, but my parents always wake up pretty early, so I didn’t pay attention to it. After that, my wife called and said that Kharkov, Kiev and other big cities are being fired upon. I was surprised, to put it mildly, rather in shock. It was scary because I couldn’t do anything when I was in another country, says Tkachenko in an interview with Sport.
The family is safe through social media
Ukrainian airspace was closed on February 24, so the Ukrainian national team’s charter flight to Kiev and the match against Spain scheduled for Sunday were canceled. The national team traveled to the Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid as there was no information on the return home.
The days seemed endless. Only domestic events were in mind.
Eventually, Tkachenko flew his Spanish player agent from Spain Raivis Usackisin create in Riga. After that, a heated investigation into how his Lidia-wife and one-year-old daughter would be safely removed from the city of Tserkasy in central Ukraine so that the family could travel together to Helsinki.
– It was really hard because everyone was scared. The war is being waged throughout Ukraine. The trip to the Polish or Hungarian border was really long, says Tkachenko.
– My wife posted a story on Instagram, and one answered it Belowwoman – a big thank you to her. He helped make the trip a reality. He said he also wants to leave the country. Below sat in the wheel of my car and drove my wife and children out of there.
Tkachenko went against them, and the family met at the Polish-Ukrainian border.
The Russians have no chance.
Ivan Tkachenko
Tkachenko glances at the phone several times during the interview. Worries about loved ones and friends are fierce, even though his hometown has been spared Russian bombing.
Tkachenko’s parents, sisters, brothers and grandparents are still in Ukraine. In addition to the family, Tkachenko keeps in close contact with his teammates still in Tserkasy.
– I’m very worried about them, even though they’re in a safe city right now. Tserkasy has been spared the attack and I hope it will continue to be so. The concern is intense because it is only 200 kilometers from Kiev, where times are difficult, says Tkachenko seriously.
– Our president encourages and says that people should continue to work in cities that are quiet and saved from fires. That way the economy wouldn’t collapse so much. Both Dad and Mom work at Tserkasy, which is all right.
The Ukrainians have been fighting the Russians for a month. Tkachenko praises the country’s military forces. There is a huge love for one’s own homeland.
Tkachenko believes that the Ukrainian army will be able to repel the Russian invasion.
– The Russians have no chance. The one who comes to Ukrainian soil with an assault rifle stays there. Our soldiers, our loved ones who volunteered to fight, defend their families and their country, Tkachenko roars.
“Russians remain silent”
At present, Tkachenko has no sympathy, even for ordinary Russians.
With the new law, it will be very difficult or even impossible for Russia to talk about the war in Ukraine other than as dictated by the Kremlin.
Despite this, Tkachenko hopes that ordinary Russians will take a stronger stance on the events of the war in Ukraine.
– I have a disrespectful attitude towards the Russians because they remain silent. Just a few well-known people like Yuri Dud (ed. note, former editor-in-chief of Sports.ru and a YouTube star), has expressed his critical views on this war. Everyone else supports it. What worries them more is that Instagram is not working and Ikea is not open. It’s potash, lines Tkachenko.
– They are most worried if they no longer have access to leisure places or a movie. They are unable to come together and go to the demonstration.
Tkachenko urges the Russians to resist Vladimir Putinia towards. He hopes Putin will be overthrown.
The home was found in Seagulls
Tkachenko’s winding road to Helsinki began to take shape when head coach Laakso looked for a replacement through Markkanen’s agent Lelchitski To Kenneth Manigault. The American season had just ended for health reasons. Just moments earlier, Lelchitski was on the train for a fresh acquisition Seth Allenia To the ranks of the Seagulls.
Ukrainian NBA players in Sacramento Kings can be found on Lelchitsk’s agency list Alex Len and the Toronto Raptors Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, which are also linked to Tkachenko ‘s arrival in Finland. Mykhailiuk is a good friend of Tkachenko and Allen is closely associated with Lenin.
In the discussions between the Valley and Lelchitski, Tkachenko’s name came up and it was quickly clear that Seagulls wanted to help Tkachenko and his family in a difficult situation. In addition, the Helsinki club had a need for an athletic player like the Ukrainian pier.
Major shareholders in Seagulls Tendon and Sinikka Kulvik immediately gave the green light for hiring Tkachenko. The contract with the Ukrainian player did not change the whole world, but for one family, things changed decisively.
Playing a counterweight to the events of the war
Right now, basketball is an important life hole for Tkachenko. During rehearsals and games, he gets to turn his thoughts elsewhere, even momentarily.
Every time I wake up, I think I want to get home and go to my friends.
Ivan Tkachenko
The Ukrainian player has played five matches in Seagulls, the fifth in the basketball league, with averages of 8.2 points and 5.6 rebounds. Tkachenko has a total playing time of 22 minutes per match. The basketball league sequels end on Wednesday, March 30, and then the fight for the championship begins.
– Playing and exercising helps me break away from everything around me for a while. I can only focus on doing my job, says Tkachenko.
– I try to avoid raising war in discussions with teammates. I prefer to think about it myself or talk to my Ukrainian friends. I don’t want to incite panic on our team.
The fisherman misses home for the summer
Tkachenko is grateful to the Seagulls organization that he and his family are now safe in Finland. Helsinki reminds him of his hometown in Ukraine.
The man hopes that by the summer the war will be over and he and his family will be able to return home.
– Every morning, when I go to workouts or whenever I wake up, I think I want to get home and go to my friends. I am an avid fisherman and would love to go fishing with my friends to relax. I really miss going home to meet my family mom, dad and grandmothers.
A recent national team debutant believes that Ukrainian basketball will rise back to the same level as before.
The country has been a familiar sight at basketball championships in the 2010s. It also paved the way for the European Championships in the autumn, which Tkachenko also hopes to reach.
However, it will be years before Ukraine can rebuild the infrastructure destroyed by the Russians.
– A lot of things have been destroyed. Numerous buildings, hospitals, maternity hospitals, regrets Tkachenko.
Tkachenko’s first international match against Spain’s reigning world champion Spain in Cordoba now feels distant.
The match started in a quiet moment, after which the crowded arena of the Palacio Vista Alegre showed its support to the standing Ukrainians. This moment made the eyes of many players wet.
Team captain Artem Pustovyi told the news agency Reuters after the game that the team wanted to show the world how strong the people of Ukraine are.
Ukraine lost to the reigning world champions 74-88. Tkachenko scored 1 point in the match.
The sequel will follow one day.