17-year-old Russian figure skater Veronika Zhilina has received an Azerbaijani passport.

Axar.az reports that the athlete announced this on her page on the social network.

“Dear friends, thank you all for your concern. Surely, many of you know that I had a serious spinal injury, I was treated and recovered for a long time, so I did not participate in any official competitions in Russia for 2 seasons (23/24 and 24/25). And I am not a member of the Russian national team.

Thanks to my family: my mother and father, my sister, and my coach, Yevgeny Viktorovich, I was able to withstand all the tests. I want you to know: I am very grateful to Russia and everyone who helped me here in every way, I highly appreciate everyone's contribution to my development and formation, and of course, your support. I trained at a private academy, but I always felt like a part of a larger community of skaters.

For several years now, my life has been connected with Baku, I often fly here, and recently I received a passport. Azerbaijan is a country that I fell in love with and found my second homeland. I have made many friends and colleagues here. Now I am not only in my soul, but also I will be happy to represent Azerbaijan, which is in my heart, in the future. I am looking forward to receiving permission for the transition! “Tomorrow I will also turn 17 and I am very grateful to everyone for supporting me on this new path,” Zhilina wrote.