More than 400 Ukrainian athletes have died in the war with Russia, officials say. Here are some of their tragic stories.
Nathan Rennolds
- More than 400 Ukrainian athletes have been killed in the Russia-Ukraine war, an official has said.
- The Sports Committee of Ukraine created a "requiem" for those athletes who have lost their lives.
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022, hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost on the battlefield or as a result of the Russian bombing of Ukrainian cities.
Talent and potential have been erased by the horrors of war affecting every sector of Ukraine's society.
More than 400 of those killed were Ukrainian athletes, the head of Ukraine's National Olympic Committee said on national television in December, the Kyiv Independent reported.
The Sports Committee of Ukraine, an organization that focuses on developing non-Olympic sports in Ukraine, has since created a "requiem" website called "Sports Angels" for those athletes who have lost their lives in the conflict.
Business Insider has highlighted eight tragic stories shared by the committee.
Dmytro Sydoruk, archery
Sydoruk was a junior sergeant in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and a silver medalist in archery at the Invictus Games, a sports event for wounded, injured, and sick service people.
The Sports Angels website says that Sydoruk initially joined the Ukrainian armed forces in 2014 following Russia's annexation of Crimea.
After being injured while serving his country, it says he began practicing archery, a sport he had done when he was younger.
He made the Ukrainian national team and competed at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto.
Sydoruk died in battle in the Kherson region while serving with the 24th separate mechanized brigade, per the website.
Serhii Balanchuk, soccer
A graduate of the Ukrainian professional soccer team Dynamo Kyiv's academy, Balanchuk later played for Israeli Premier League side Maccabi Haifa.
After his playing career ended, he studied law and took up a role in the legal field, The New Voice of Ukraine reported.
He was killed by an artillery blast while fighting near the war-torn city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, per the Sports Angels page.
A councilor in Haifa, Israel, said the city would name the street on which the Russian consulate is located after the former soccer player, per The New Voice of Ukraine.
Daria Kurdel, dance
Twenty-year-old Ukrainian dance champion Daria Kurdel was a student at the National University of Odesa Law Academy, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
The university said in a Facebook post that Kurdel "was a responsible, intelligent and ambitious girl" and that she "took an active part in student life and loved sports."
She was killed during a Russian missile attack on Kryvyi Rih, per the report.
Serhii Pronevych, running
Pronevych, 30, was a record-breaking marathon runner who reportedly completed a marathon distance in 4 hours 36 minutes in 2019 while dressed in full military gear.
He became active in Ukraine's territorial defense after Russia's invasion, possibly serving in a "reconnaissance" unit, his mother said, per the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHRP).
The KHRP said Russian troops likely tortured Pronevych before he died.
Ihor Boiko, American football
A former American footballer, Boiko, died in June after he was wounded during an operation in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, per the Sports Angels page.
Boiko had played in the Ukrainian League of American Football (ULAF), the country's national league, for the Vinnytsia Wolves and the Kyiv Patriots clubs, the website says.
The ULAF paid tribute to Boiko on its Facebook page: "He defended the freedom of our country and laid down his life for it. May our Hero rest in peace in a better world, and may our enemy know no peace either in this or the next world."
"Heroes do not die. Neither in our hearts nor in our memory," it added.
Victoria Kotlyarova, soccer
Kotlyarova was a soccer player who played in the Ukrainian Women's League. She was also a champion futsal player, per the requiem page.
She died on December 29 alongside her mother in a Russian attack on a warehouse in Kyiv that killed 32 people, the Kyiv Post reported, citing Texty.org.
She had married just days before her death, say reports.
Mykola Poliuliak, snowboarding
Snowboarding instructor Mykola Poliuliak, 38, volunteered to join Ukraine's armed forces but died in battle while defending Mariupol.
According to the Sports Angels page, following Poliuliak's death, fellow snowboard coach Vadym Yankovskyi wrote of him: "You were one of those people who got me into the world of winter mountains, my first coach and mentor."
"Thank you for everything. Rest in peace, Ryder. I hope there will be mountains, snow, and your favorite board," he added.
Fedir Yepifanov, fencing
Yepifanov was a talented champion fencer who had represented Ukraine at international tournaments, according to the The Sports Committee of Ukraine's requiem page.
Despite being just 18 years old when Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, Yepifanov put his fencing career on hold and joined Ukraine's war effort.
He was killed while fighting on the front line on December 13, 2023, per the committee.
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