Russia kills nearly 500 Ukrainian athletes since February 24

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russians have killed 479 Ukrainian athletes and coaches, including world and European champions and Olympic participants, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine reported. Many more athletes have been rendered disabled.

“Each Ukrainian athlete killed by Russia is a tragedy for the entire sports family. These crimes are not only a blow to our sports, but also an attempt by the aggressor to strike at our national identity,” emphasized Matvii Bidnyi, acting Minister of Ukraine’s Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Russia also systematically destroys Ukraine’s athletic infrastructure. Occupiers have damaged and destroyed 518 sports facilities, including 15 Olympic training bases. “These facilities were the training grounds for Ukraine’s most titled athletes,” said Oleksandr Krykun, Vice President of the NOC of Ukraine.

All Russian crimes are classified as war crimes, says First Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksii Khomenko. Since the beginning of the war, more than 160,000 civilian infrastructure facilities have been documented as destroyed. 48 Russian military personnel who carried out indiscriminate shelling have already been identified.

“We will be able to assess the full scale of the enemy’s crimes only after the liberation of our entire country’s territory. But already now we are investigating the crimes that we know of and cooperating with international partners to punish Russia using mechanisms of international justice,” Khomenko said.

Participants in the press conference called on the international community to support Ukraine and condemn Russia’s crimes. They emphasized that the victory of Ukraine would be the victory of the entire civilized world.

Earlier, Ukraine managed to exclude Russian athletes who openly supported the war against Ukraine from participating in the Olympic Games.