Kucherova was wrapped in a long silver padded coat with a hood and her eyes covered with dark glasses, like all the other flag bearers of the 92 nations competing in the Olympics. The Ukraine sign was illuminated for the crowd to read.
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At first, the country assignments were going to be random, but then the choreographer asked if the volunteers had preferences and Kucherova chose Ukraine.
Kucherova, an architect who has lived in Milan for 14 years, was unrecognizable and her nationality was not announced to the public as she led the five Ukrainian athletes competing in Milan to the San Siro stadium to resounding cheers.
He first revealed his role to his 879 Instagram followers and then in an interview with The Associated Press.
“When you walk next to these people you realize that they have every human right to feel hatred towards any Russian,” he told the AP on Monday. “Still, I think it’s important to do even a small action to show them that maybe not all people think the same way.”
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For Kucherova, talking about her small act of resistance on the second anniversary of the poisoning death of dissident Alexei Navalny is a way of reminding the world that the war continues, even as life elsewhere goes on.
“Ukrainians have no chance to avoid these thoughts or ignore the existence of the war. So it is their reality. They continue to love, get married, play sports, attend the Olympic Games. But all this is happening (against) a devastating context.”
Without being told that Kucherova was Russian, the athletes immediately recognized her origins and addressed her in Russian. For Kucherova, that was a sign of “some deep connection” between Russians and Ukrainians “that could obviously endure if it weren’t for the war.”
The Milan delegation was led by flag bearer Yelyzaveta Sydorko, a short track speed skater, and included figure skater Kyrylo Marsak. Both athletes have fathers fighting on the front lines of a war approaching its fourth anniversary.
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“There is literally no word you can say that can undo the harm these people have already suffered, and there is no word that can come close to forgiveness,” Kucherova said.
Just before entering the stadium, “I turned around, I didn’t know what to say to them, but I just said that the entire stadium was going to give them a standing ovation.” Ukrainians seemed skeptical, he said.
When the cheers came, Kucherova said she felt as if the entire stadium was “recognizing her independence, recognizing her will for freedom, her courage to make it all the way to the Olympics.”
He cried silently behind his glasses.
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Kucherova has not visited Russia since 2018, but understands that she is taking a risk by challenging the regime.
“I have to worry about this, and I’m supposed to be afraid. And I can’t guarantee that speaking out won’t hurt any people I know,” he said. “But what I think is that if I, living in a democratic country and enjoying all the freedoms, am afraid, that means the regime has won.”
Kucherova held the sign for another delegation, Denmark, which also received a standing ovation for that nation’s resistance to American threats to seize Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory.
“Yes, this is a coincidence, but I thought about it,” Kucherova said.
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics