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Ukrainian tennis<\/a> star Marta Kostyuk giving Russian Mirra Andreeva the cold shoulder after her French Open loss on Thursday brought the conflict between their nations back into the public conscience.\u00a0<\/p>\n Andreeva beat Kostyuk 6-1, 6-3 at Roland-Garros in Paris, reaching her first Grand Slam final.<\/a> After the match, her Ukrainian opponent refused to shake hands and take a picture. While exiting the court, she blew kisses to the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some may view this as poor sportsmanship, but it’s more complicated than that. Kostyuk has been an outspoken critic of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war, which recently struck close to home.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ukraine and Russia have been at war since February 2022, and it’s not going to end anytime soon. Russia launched<\/a> a missile\/drone strike on Tuesday, killing at least 22 civilians. That comes after Russia held another strike from May 23-24.\u00a0<\/p>\n That attack destroyed Kostyuk’s home in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. Her family survived. She learned of the news\u00a0<\/a>before her first match in Paris. In a post-match news conference, she showed the damage on her phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n “If the [missile] was 100 meters closer, I probably wouldn’t have a mom and sister today,” she said (h\/t James Sharpe of the Daily Mail).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nUkraine-Russia conflict escalated during 2026 French Open\u00a0<\/h2>\n