Mariia Vainshtein’s family fled Ukraine shortly after Russia launched its invasion four years ago
Mariia Vainshtein participates in drills during tennis practice at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis and Learning in the Bronx borough of New York, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
By BRIAN MAHONEY – AP Sports Writer
Updated 13 minutes ago
NEW YORK (AP) — Mariia Vainshtein never heard the noise and slept straight through that horrible night four years ago.
She didn’t have her phone near bed when she woke the next morning — it probably had been taken by her parents for some teenager’s misbehavior, she suspects now with a laugh – so couldn’t scroll around for the news of the day. Instead, she just asked her mother when she could get a ride to school.
Anzhelika Kotliantseva knew they weren’t going anywhere in Ukraine that day. Not after she had been awake for hours, listening to the nearby explosions that began when Russia launched its invasion.
“My mom was like, ’What do you mean? We’re at war! There’s no school, no nothing!’