Remembering fallen athletes: Ukrainians in France announce rally

The Association of Ukrainians in France (AUF), in collaboration with the Ukrainian World Congress and the Office of the President of Ukraine, is organizing a memorial march in Paris to honor Ukrainian athletes who have been killed in Russian attacks. The rally is scheduled for July 13 at 15:30, with the exact location yet to be confirmed.

“Numerous Ukrainian athletes will no longer be able to participate in any competitions, including the Olympic Games. Russia has killed 419 Ukrainian athletes and coaches since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began,” organizers wrote.

Participants in the memorial march will wear t-shirts adorned with the names and portraits of the deceased Ukrainian athletes. Volodymyr Kogutyak, Vice President of the Ukrainian World Congress for Western Europe and Vice President of the Association of Ukrainians in France, anticipates that at least five hundred individuals—including politicians, journalists, and ordinary citizens from Ukraine, France, Georgia, and Poland—will join the event to express their solidarity and concern.

“In addition to the march in memory of the fallen athletes, we will also demand that Russian and Belarusian athletes be barred from stepping on French soil during the Olympic Games. We will also call for the closure of Ukrainian airspace so that not only athletes but the entire Ukrainian society can stop suffering from Russian bombs,” Kogutyak said.

On June 26, in anticipation of the 2024 Olympics, a multimedia exhibition entitled “The Will to Win” was unveiled, celebrating the unyielding spirit of Ukrainian Olympians. Organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and supported by the Office of the President of Ukraine, this significant cultural initiative has been made possible through a partnership with the Ukrainian World Congress and the Ukrainian-American Coordinating Council.