"Sanctions are working but more needs to be done" - Sergiy Stakhovsky calls for more action on war in Ukraine

Former World number 31 Sergiy Stakhovsky, who has joined Ukrainian forces in fighting the Russian invasion, admits that sporting sanctions are not enough to stop Putin’s army.

Yesterday, the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) prepared a joint statement that outlined new guidelines for Russian and Belarusian players. They suspended the Russian Tennis Federation’s (RTF) and Belarus Tennis Federation’s (BTF) memberships of ITF and withdrew their participation from ITF international team events such as the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup.

Despite the sanctions and suspensions, Sergiy Stakhovsky believes that more needs to be done.

“The support and even the restrictions and sanctions of the Russian Federation in terms of sport, culture, is great, it’s working. I’m very sure it’s working but it doesn’t stop him from what he’s doing and somebody needs to put a stop to him."

He further said:

"I would never in my life believe that they would invade on a full scale. But that’s what Russia’s agenda is – to deliver chaos and instability in Europe. We are being punished because we want a better life and are reaching out to Europe. I am not really sure we can have a person in today’s world who has the capability of nuclear weapons. We are not sure what he is going to do next”