{"id":16833,"date":"2022-02-25T23:51:14","date_gmt":"2022-02-25T23:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/25\/at-iem-katowice-ukrainian-counter-strike-star-calls-for-peace-for-ukraine\/"},"modified":"2022-02-25T23:51:14","modified_gmt":"2022-02-25T23:51:14","slug":"at-iem-katowice-ukrainian-counter-strike-star-calls-for-peace-for-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/25\/at-iem-katowice-ukrainian-counter-strike-star-calls-for-peace-for-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"At IEM Katowice, Ukrainian \u2018Counter-Strike\u2019 star calls for \u2018peace for Ukraine\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cMy whole career I\u2019ve played with Ukrainian players, I played with Russian players, and I played with American players, and all of them [are] great guys,\u201d Kostyliev said. He gestured toward his teammates onstage with him, three Russians and one Ukrainian. \u201cRight now, I stay with my friends, with my real friends. We win together, and we lose together. And all of us want peace for Ukraine and for [the] whole world. All of us [are] scared.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a \u201cspecial military operation\u201d in Ukraine after months of a massive military buildup on the border between the two countries. Since then, the United Nations reports more than 50,000 Ukrainians have fled the country as Russian forces have moved closer toward the capital city, Kyiv.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Onstage Friday, Kostyliev\u2019s speech positioned his team as a positive example of coexistence and friendship. \u201cAll of us need to show [an] example in this tournament for [the] whole world,\u201d he continued, after a bout of sustained applause in the venue. \u201cWe all need to stay humans first.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Kostyliev is widely considered one of the all-time greatest \u201cCounter-Strike: Global Offensive\u201d players. In 2021, the \u201cCounter-Strike\u201d news and stats portal HLTV ranked him the best player of the year, writing<\/a> that \u201can argument can even be made that this was the strongest year anyone has ever had in the history of the game.\u201d The 24-year-old plays for Natus Vincere, or NAVI, an esports organization based in Kyiv that, like Kostyliev, has the record of an esports powerhouse. On Thursday, the organization posted a series of messages in English, Ukrainian and Russian on its Twitter feed outlining the situation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cRussia attacked Ukraine,\u201d reads NAVI\u2019s statement<\/a>. \u201cWe are devastated. Our main goal right now is to try to stay calm and take care of ourselves, our loved ones and those who need help.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Since the invasion, a number of esports organizations around the world have changed their profile pictures on social media to the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag. In a subsequent tweet from NAVI, the organization expressed its appreciation for the support, in particular for those in Russia who had spoken out against the war.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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You can\u2019t imagine how important you support is. Especially all the Russian people on the street protesting again this devastating war.<\/p>\n

\u2014 NAVI (@natusvincere) February 24, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Since Russia\u2019s military operation began, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made repeated overtures to the Russian people to vocally oppose the war. Some Russian esports athletes, notably, have spoken up on Twitter. The esports organization Team Spirit, which in October was congratulated by Putin after winning the \u201cDota 2\u201d International championship, released the following statement on Twitter: \u201cWe are against war and we are against violence.\u201d Multiple players for the Moscow-based Gambit Esports posted tweets ranging from expressions of disbelief to outright support for Ukraine. One shared<\/a> the hashtag #StandWithUkraine, alongside a Ukrainian flag and a heart emoji.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On Thursday morning in Ukraine, Kostyliev tweeted<\/a> from Poland, where he was preparing to compete, that his city was being \u201cshelled.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I cry thinking about my family and friends in Kyiv
I\u2019m “lucky” that I\u2019m not at home, but you can\u2019t even imagine how much I want to be there
Tomorrow I want to think about IEM Katowice and only
We don’t need regrets, We need support, thank you everyone who cares #navination<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Sasha (@s1mpleO) February 24, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n