Ukrainian athletes raise the spirit of the nation in difficult wartime
Ukrainian high jumper and world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh
KYIV, October 6, 2024 - The situation in Ukraine remains tense and difficult as the war continues. Bombings continue every day in different regions of Ukraine - the place may change, but unfortunately, missiles or drones with bombs (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicle) attack Ukraine every day. Large-scale tragedies constantly occur in Ukraine.
TRAGEDIES IN KYIV, POLTAVA AND LVIV In the last three months - from what you could hear - a rocket directly hit a children's hospital in Kyiv. It happened at the beginning of July. By a coincidence that can be called “happy”, only 2 people died in the hospital, but the entire children's hospital was actually destroyed. On the same day and time, in another district of Kyiv, a rocket destroyed an entire residential block, killing 15 people. A total of 33 people died in Kyiv on July 8, 2024. 129 buildings were damaged.
In early September, two ballistic missiles hit the Communications Institute in Poltava, killing 55 people. And two days later, Russian rockets flew into the center of Lviv, destroying not only UNESCO historical monuments, but also taking the lives of 7 people. The most terrible tragedy of this bombing is that only the father survived from a family of five, losing his wife and three daughters.
Unfortunately, the situation has not changed: the war has been going on for 953 days (if we are talking about a full-scale Russian invasion) or more than 10 years since the beginning of the occupation of Crimea. The Russians are trying to target energy facilities in order to deprive Ukrainians of electricity. But, as you can see, peaceful civilians are very often attacked. September was the first month with daily attacks by "shaheeds" (drones): 1,339 UAVs were launched, of which 1,107 were shot down by Ukrainian air defense system. From 50 to 100 drones attack Ukrainian cities every day. And about once a month, Russian armed forces organize a mass bombardment of Ukraine with missiles, when the Russians release 100 missiles at the same time. However, a smaller number of missiles are also fired over Ukraine every day. It is not known what the winter will be like for Ukrainians, who are threatened by the lack of light and heat in their homes due to the destroyed energy facilities.
COUNTEROFFENSIVE OF UKRAINE As a response to Russian aggression, on August 6, Ukraine carried out a counteroffensive on Russian territory - in the Kursk region. Currently, the Ukrainian army controls about 100 settlements on the territory of Russia. On September 2, in an interview with NBC News, President Zelenskyi said that Ukraine will hold territories in the Kursk region for an indefinite period of time, this is part of the victory plan.
ATHLETES CONTINUE TO DIE More than 500 athletes have already died as a result of Russia's military aggression. Since last October, the loss of Ukrainian athletes has increased by more than 100 people. In particular, two-time European champion, participant of the Olympic Games in Rio (fourth place), weightlifter Oleksandr Peleshenko died this year. He was a military man.
PERFORMANCE OF UKRAINE AT THE 2024 OLYMPICS At the Olympics in Paris, the sports delegation of Ukraine consisted of 140 athletes. Ukrainian athletes won 12 medals (3 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze), took 22nd overall team place.
Russia and Belarus as teams were excluded from participation in the Olympics. 15 athletes from Russia and 16 from Belarus took part in the Olympics as neutral athletes - this is the official data of the International Olympic Committee. Ukraine continues to take an active position in the issue of not allowing Russian athletes who support the war or do not oppose it to compete. It was because of Ukraine's appeal and the IOC's attention to the position of Russian athletes that many of them were not allowed to participate in the Olympics.
UKRAINIAN SPORTS MEDIA DURING WAR Ukrainian sports media, despite the war situation, continue to work, although, as I said at the AIPS Congress, 50 of our colleagues are serving in the Armed Forces. Over the last summer, two more sports journalists were mobilized. However, other colleagues still cover Ukrainian sports. Today, national competitions are ongoing in all sports inside Ukraine, which are suspended at the moment of air alarms. The situation is more difficult in the regions close to the contact line - in the East and South, where alarms are very common. Kharkiv is constantly under fire (there are no competitions there). But competitions take place, say, in Poltava or Dnipro regions, where anxiety is also very common.
WORK CONTINUES Ukrainian media continue to write and prepare a lot of materials about how sport exists, lives, and survives in the conditions of war. Also about how Ukrainian elite athletes prepare for competitions - in Ukraine and abroad. Every time international athletes from Ukraine cover a long way from Ukraine by train, bus or car to neighboring countries, where they cover the rest of the distance by plane. As a rule, it all takes at least 16-18 hours, if the trip is, for example, from Kyiv to Warsaw and everything turns out clearly according to the schedule. And usually the whole road to Europe takes 24 hours. Let's say this time I traveled from Kyiv to Vienna by two trains in 26 hours where before the war I could fly to in just 2 hours from Kyiv.
A CALL TO EUROPEAN COLLEAGUES FOR COOPERATION Unfortunately, European colleagues were not particularly interested in my proposal to order such materials from Ukrainian colleagues, which could support our colleagues in a difficult time. Therefore, I make this proposal again - there are many famous athletes, Olympic champions and medalists who saw the horrors of war and then performed at the highest level.
UNIQUE STORIES OF UKRAINIAN ATHLETES For example, Iryna Kolyadenko, the silver medalist of the Olympics in Paris, the wrestler, who in 2022 survived the Russian occupation in her native town Irpin near Kyiv, and her apartment, which she was awarded from local authority for the bronze medal in Tokyo, was destroyed by the Russian army.
Olympic high jump champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who was forced to quickly evacuate her native Dnipro when the Russian army began an offensive and is strongly opposed to the war, constantly making loud statements against the war. These days, together with other Olympic athletes, she visited wounded Ukrainian soldiers in the Kyiv military hospital, showing them her medal, letting them hold and take photos with the Olympic gold, which greatly lifts the spirits of seriously wounded people who lost limbs in the war.
Or the Olympic champion and bronze medalist of Paris-2024 in fencing Olga Kharlan, who comes from Mykolaiv, which in the first year of the war was mercilessly bombarded by Russia with rockets, and in 2023 Olga was disqualified from World championship because she refused to shake hands with a Russian fencer after a match. Later that evening, IOC President Thomas Bach granted her automatic qualification for the Paris Olympiad and the disqualification was lifted. But the individual competitions had already ended by that time.
There are many stories, these stories are unique, and it allow the reader to see how Ukrainian athletes and Ukrainian people experience the horror of the war that is happening inside Europe now in the 21st century.
HOPE FOR COOPERATION Therefore, I appeal to you to support Ukrainian colleagues and at the same time to support the country and nation, which does not allow genocide to be committed against itself, fights for its existence and for its freedom. To support in a way that is accessible to journalists - to tell real stories of life in sports.
TRAGEDIES IN KYIV, POLTAVA AND LVIV In the last three months - from what you could hear - a rocket directly hit a children's hospital in Kyiv. It happened at the beginning of July. By a coincidence that can be called “happy”, only 2 people died in the hospital, but the entire children's hospital was actually destroyed. On the same day and time, in another district of Kyiv, a rocket destroyed an entire residential block, killing 15 people. A total of 33 people died in Kyiv on July 8, 2024. 129 buildings were damaged.
In early September, two ballistic missiles hit the Communications Institute in Poltava, killing 55 people. And two days later, Russian rockets flew into the center of Lviv, destroying not only UNESCO historical monuments, but also taking the lives of 7 people. The most terrible tragedy of this bombing is that only the father survived from a family of five, losing his wife and three daughters.
Unfortunately, the situation has not changed: the war has been going on for 953 days (if we are talking about a full-scale Russian invasion) or more than 10 years since the beginning of the occupation of Crimea. The Russians are trying to target energy facilities in order to deprive Ukrainians of electricity. But, as you can see, peaceful civilians are very often attacked. September was the first month with daily attacks by "shaheeds" (drones): 1,339 UAVs were launched, of which 1,107 were shot down by Ukrainian air defense system. From 50 to 100 drones attack Ukrainian cities every day. And about once a month, Russian armed forces organize a mass bombardment of Ukraine with missiles, when the Russians release 100 missiles at the same time. However, a smaller number of missiles are also fired over Ukraine every day. It is not known what the winter will be like for Ukrainians, who are threatened by the lack of light and heat in their homes due to the destroyed energy facilities.
COUNTEROFFENSIVE OF UKRAINE As a response to Russian aggression, on August 6, Ukraine carried out a counteroffensive on Russian territory - in the Kursk region. Currently, the Ukrainian army controls about 100 settlements on the territory of Russia. On September 2, in an interview with NBC News, President Zelenskyi said that Ukraine will hold territories in the Kursk region for an indefinite period of time, this is part of the victory plan.
ATHLETES CONTINUE TO DIE More than 500 athletes have already died as a result of Russia's military aggression. Since last October, the loss of Ukrainian athletes has increased by more than 100 people. In particular, two-time European champion, participant of the Olympic Games in Rio (fourth place), weightlifter Oleksandr Peleshenko died this year. He was a military man.
PERFORMANCE OF UKRAINE AT THE 2024 OLYMPICS At the Olympics in Paris, the sports delegation of Ukraine consisted of 140 athletes. Ukrainian athletes won 12 medals (3 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze), took 22nd overall team place.
Russia and Belarus as teams were excluded from participation in the Olympics. 15 athletes from Russia and 16 from Belarus took part in the Olympics as neutral athletes - this is the official data of the International Olympic Committee. Ukraine continues to take an active position in the issue of not allowing Russian athletes who support the war or do not oppose it to compete. It was because of Ukraine's appeal and the IOC's attention to the position of Russian athletes that many of them were not allowed to participate in the Olympics.
UKRAINIAN SPORTS MEDIA DURING WAR Ukrainian sports media, despite the war situation, continue to work, although, as I said at the AIPS Congress, 50 of our colleagues are serving in the Armed Forces. Over the last summer, two more sports journalists were mobilized. However, other colleagues still cover Ukrainian sports. Today, national competitions are ongoing in all sports inside Ukraine, which are suspended at the moment of air alarms. The situation is more difficult in the regions close to the contact line - in the East and South, where alarms are very common. Kharkiv is constantly under fire (there are no competitions there). But competitions take place, say, in Poltava or Dnipro regions, where anxiety is also very common.
WORK CONTINUES Ukrainian media continue to write and prepare a lot of materials about how sport exists, lives, and survives in the conditions of war. Also about how Ukrainian elite athletes prepare for competitions - in Ukraine and abroad. Every time international athletes from Ukraine cover a long way from Ukraine by train, bus or car to neighboring countries, where they cover the rest of the distance by plane. As a rule, it all takes at least 16-18 hours, if the trip is, for example, from Kyiv to Warsaw and everything turns out clearly according to the schedule. And usually the whole road to Europe takes 24 hours. Let's say this time I traveled from Kyiv to Vienna by two trains in 26 hours where before the war I could fly to in just 2 hours from Kyiv.
A CALL TO EUROPEAN COLLEAGUES FOR COOPERATION Unfortunately, European colleagues were not particularly interested in my proposal to order such materials from Ukrainian colleagues, which could support our colleagues in a difficult time. Therefore, I make this proposal again - there are many famous athletes, Olympic champions and medalists who saw the horrors of war and then performed at the highest level.
UNIQUE STORIES OF UKRAINIAN ATHLETES For example, Iryna Kolyadenko, the silver medalist of the Olympics in Paris, the wrestler, who in 2022 survived the Russian occupation in her native town Irpin near Kyiv, and her apartment, which she was awarded from local authority for the bronze medal in Tokyo, was destroyed by the Russian army.
Olympic high jump champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who was forced to quickly evacuate her native Dnipro when the Russian army began an offensive and is strongly opposed to the war, constantly making loud statements against the war. These days, together with other Olympic athletes, she visited wounded Ukrainian soldiers in the Kyiv military hospital, showing them her medal, letting them hold and take photos with the Olympic gold, which greatly lifts the spirits of seriously wounded people who lost limbs in the war.
Or the Olympic champion and bronze medalist of Paris-2024 in fencing Olga Kharlan, who comes from Mykolaiv, which in the first year of the war was mercilessly bombarded by Russia with rockets, and in 2023 Olga was disqualified from World championship because she refused to shake hands with a Russian fencer after a match. Later that evening, IOC President Thomas Bach granted her automatic qualification for the Paris Olympiad and the disqualification was lifted. But the individual competitions had already ended by that time.
There are many stories, these stories are unique, and it allow the reader to see how Ukrainian athletes and Ukrainian people experience the horror of the war that is happening inside Europe now in the 21st century.
HOPE FOR COOPERATION Therefore, I appeal to you to support Ukrainian colleagues and at the same time to support the country and nation, which does not allow genocide to be committed against itself, fights for its existence and for its freedom. To support in a way that is accessible to journalists - to tell real stories of life in sports.
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