Ineos Grenadiers' rising star Pavel Sivakov took to social media on Friday to denounce the Russian invasion of Ukraine and to ask that his fellow Russian citizens not be "targets of hate".
"It's been a difficult few days seeing what's currently happening," Sivakov wrote. "First of all I just want to say that I'm totally against the war and can't get around of what's going on in Ukraine, all my thoughts are with the Ukrainian people."
Russian troops, which had been lining up on the borders of their neighboring country in the past week, launched missile strikes all across Ukraine followed by ground forces entering the country.
The UCI denounced the invasion and called for diplomacy, noting that the attack violates the Olympic Truce by which all members of the United Nations agreed to suspend conflicts during the Olympic and Paralympic Games which are currently taking place in Beijing.
As people across the globe denounced the invasion, Sivakov asked that the Russian people not be the target of hate after the actions taken by Russian president Vladimir Putin.
"I also want people to understand that most of the Russians only want peace and never asked for all of this to happen, we shouldn't be targets of hate just because of our origin. I know these few lines won't make a big difference to the current situation but I just wanted to share it."
Sivakov, who started his season with a top-10 finish at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, said on Instagram he has recovered from a COVID infection and is back training after a week off the bike.
