Russia’s failure of an ongoing invasion on Ukraine continued to be bloody throughout Orthodox Christmas, given that Putin declared a ceasefire and then launched strikes anyway. Ukraine is keeping their message of vigilance and hope alive, and part of that mission included sending a Miss Universe delegate, Viktoriia Apanasenko, to New Orleans for the annual competition.
The Daily Beast dug into Ukraine’s preparations that ran a full eight months in the costuming department. Apanasenko wore black for an evening wear segment as well as a white, winged “angel” dress.
Even her swimsuit stayed on theme when she unfurled a “Be Brave Like Ukraine” cape. Miss Universe Ukraine branch director Anna Filimonova told The Daily Beast that they “learned about Miss Russia’s participation only one week before the competition, so we had two options: not to take part in the competition, or to go to the United States and carry our important message, our angel.”
Whereas Russia dressed their delegate, Anna Linnikova, in multiple red costumes.
Apanasenko declared this event to be “painful,” given that she attended while Russian shelling continued in her nation. She also disapproved of the chosen color from Russia:
“I am more than grateful to Miss Universe for their support, but I am not sure the organizers understood what it felt like for me to be standing and smiling on the same stage with Miss Russia who was wearing a red dress, the color of blood,” Apanasenko told The Daily Beast on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Putin is still insisting that he’s on a sure path to winning his war while claiming victories that Kyiv says didn’t happen. His soldiers loathe this conflict so much that they’re drunkenly shooting each other, so Miss Ukraine makes more than a fair point (regarding tragedy on both sides) about blood-red costuming at the Miss Universe pageant.
(Via The Daily Beast)