KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd August, 2021) Ukraine is providing Arseniy Zdanevich, the husband of Belarusian sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya - who defied the order of her Olympics team to leave Tokyo early - with all necessary support during his stay in the country, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday.
On Monday, Zdanevich confirmed that he left for Ukraine as his family has friends there who can help him until he reunites with his wife.
"[The Ukrainian] Foreign Ministry is in touch with Arseniy Zdanevich, the husband of Belarusian sprinter Tsimanovskaya. We're ready to provide necessary help during his stay in Ukraine and make him feel safe despite shocking news. I wish him and his wife to successfully overcome these hard times," Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
The scandal around Timanovskaya erupted last week. The athlete was supposed to take part in the women's 100m and 200m sprints at Tokyo Olympics. However, her coaches decided to involve her in the 4 x 400m relay as well after two Belarusian athletes were found to be ineligible to compete due to insufficient drug testing. The sprinter criticized the decision on social media, as she was not ready to take part in this competition.
Afterward, the National Olympic Committee of Belarus said that the coaching staff of the Belarusian athletics team decided to send the sprinter home due to her emotional state. Timanovskaya said the Belarusian authorities "forcibly" tried to make her return home, adding that she will seek asylum in Europe.
On Monday, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz said that Timanovskaya was granted a Polish humanitarian visa. Later, Anatoly Kotov, a member of Belarus' opposition National Anti-Crisis Management movement and a former secretary of the Belarusian National Olympic Committee, told Sputnik that the sprinter is likely to arrive in Warsaw on Wednesday.
