Andrey Rublev, Russian Tennis Player, Writes 'No War Please' After Winning Semi-Final Match

Andrey Rublev asked for peace at the Dubai Tennis Championships days after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine

Photo: TennisTV/Twitter

Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev shared a pointed message of peace after winning a semi-final match at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Friday.

In a brief clip, Rublev had just upset Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, per ESPN, when he could be seen writing "No war please" on a camera.

"In these moments you realize that my match is not important," Rublev said during a press conference, shared via Tennis Channel International. "So it's not about my match, how [it affects] me. Because what's happening is much more terrible. You realize how important it is to have peace in the world and to respect each other no matter what and to be united."

"We should take care of our earth and of each other. This is the most important thing," he concluded.

Czech tennis player Jiří Veselý — who will face Rublev in the championship match on Saturday — penned a similar message on a camera after his earlier match, simply writing "No war."

Russia began its invasion of Ukraine earlier this week after Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" in a televised address Thursday morning local time. The attack is still-evolving, but explosions and airstrikes have been reported, with threats mounting against the capital, Kyiv, a city of 2.8 million people.

Following the invasion, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) encouraged international sports federations to relocate or cancel all events planned in Russia and Belarus.

In a statement, the IOC cited the "safety" and "security of athletes as a top priority and its reason for urging international sports federations to act swiftly and make the move."

"The IOC EB today urges all International Sports Federations to relocate or cancel their sports events currently planned in Russia or Belarus. They should take the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian and Belarussian governments into account and give the safety and security of the athletes absolute priority. The IOC itself has no events planned in Russia or Belarus," the statement read, in part.

"In addition, the IOC EB urges that no Russian or Belarussian national flag be displayed and no Russian or Belarussian anthem be played in international sports events which are not already part of the respective World Anti-Doping Agency sanctions for Russia," it continued.

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Russia has broken the Olympic Truce, an agreement of peace surrounding Olympic Games, three times in 14 years.

"The respective UN resolution was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 2 December 2021 by consensus of all 193 UN Member States. The Olympic Truce began seven days before the start of the Olympic Games, on 4 February 2022, and ends seven days after the closing of the Paralympic Games," added the IOC.

The Russian attack on Ukraine is an evolving story, with information changing quickly. Follow PEOPLE's complete coverage of the war here, including stories from citizens on the ground and ways to help.