456 Ukrainian athletes and national team coaches died as a result of Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
Hundreds of sports facilities were destroyed and damaged by Russians
The head of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Matviy Bidnyy, noted that the number of dead and injured athletes is growing almost every day.
Today, the elite of Ukrainian sports defend our independence and our future with weapons in their hands. We are suffering very heavy losses. In particular, two-time European weightlifting champion Oleksandr Peleshenko died last week. He took fifth place at the Olympics in Rio, emphasised Bidnyy.
As a result of Russian attacks, over 500 sports facilities and 100 youth infrastructure facilities in Ukraine were destroyed, the head of the Ministry noted.
During his official visit to Brussels, Matvii Bidnyy spoke at the EU Council on Youth and Sports meetings.
His speech was accompanied by applause from European colleagues who expressed unconditional support for Ukraine.
In addition, Matvyi Bidnyy held several bilateral meetings, during which issues of support for Ukrainian sports and youth during the war were discussed.
Ukrainian athletes resist Russian aggression
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukrainian athletes have been demonstrating their national position at all international competitions, drawing the world's attention to Russian aggression.
Ukrainian female fencer Olga Harlan refused to shake her opponent's hand after defeating the Russian at the World Fencing Championship.
The Russian athlete remained on the fencing track for about an hour and demanded to disqualify the Ukrainian due to lack of "show of respect". But Olga did not change her position. After publicising the situation, the International Fencing Federation supported the Ukrainian fencer.
Ukrainian Ivan Chuprinko refused to shake hands with the Iranian athlete during the World Bench Press Championship award ceremony.
The Ukrainian athlete became the absolute champion in the weight category up to 74 kg. He motivated his act by the fact that Iran sells weapons to Russian terrorists. In particular, "Shahed" drones attack Ukraine almost every day.
Tennis player Marta Kostyuk did not shake hands with the second ranked player in the world — the Belarusian tennis player after losing at the French Open tennis championship.
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