“It has been tough on the battlefield” – Dolgopolov on war in Ukraine
A former tennis player is now fighting in the Ukrainian army
Alexandr Dolgopolov in Hopman Cup action in 2016
Former world No 13 Alexandr Dolgopolov has been speaking about his life as a soldier since the start of the war in Ukraine.
The 35-year-old joined up after the Russia invasion in March 2022 and is currently in Kyiv awaiting his next deployment with the Directorate of Intelligence.
“It has been tough on the battlefield in the last year,” he told BBC Radio Four.
“When they are firing and getting really close, you know they know approximately where you are.
“When the round exits, you hear that and then you have the few seconds where it is flying – it is like loud whistles coming in – and then you feel the impact.
“You hope the impact is not exactly on the top of the trench.
“If it is one or more metres from you, you should be fine because you’re half or one metre under the ground. if it doesn’t hit the ceiling, you should be OK, but you don’t know that.”
Dolgopolov: The longer it goes, the more people are dead
Dolgopolov also spoke about casualties in his unit, saying: “”We haven’t had too many close people dead but many have been injured.
“We hear a lot about other guys from other units, and friends of friends, dying.
“The longer it goes, the more people are dead.”
Another Ukrainian tennis player, Sergiy Stakhovsky, has also joined the army since the invasion and spoken about his experiences over the last 18 months.
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