In more than a year and a half since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 361 Ukrainian sportsmen have lost their lives defending their homeland from the aggressors.
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“361 athletes and coaches died in the Russian-Ukrainian war. They have become sports angels. In our hearts there will always be a flame of memory. Today is the time to say ‘thank you’ to each of them and to everyone who continues to defend,” wrote on Facebook President of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee, Minister of Youth and Sports Vadims Gutcaits.
Gutcaits points out that there are currently more than 3,000 Ukrainian athletes and coaches fighting against the occupiers.
Gutcait’s post was published just a few days after world sports eased sanctions against aggressor Russia and its ally Belarus.
The Association of European Football Federations (UEFA) allowed the Russian U-17 girls’ and boys’ national teams to return to international competitions at the end of September. UEFA justified its decision to allow Russia’s youth teams to return to the international circuit by saying that “children should not be punished for actions for which only adults are responsible”, and the organization firmly believes that football should never refuse to send messages of peace and hope.
A few days after UEFA’s decision, the International Paralympic Committee made an even bigger splash in the face of Ukrainians, which decided to allow athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus to participate in the 2024 Paralympic Games as neutral or individual athletes. In less than two weeks, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) must also decide on the fate of the athletes of the aggressor countries in connection with the Paris Olympic Games.
