31 years ago, Ukraine’s Declaration of Independence from the Soviet Union was issued, an occasion traditionally marked by celebrations and military parades in the streets of Kiev, the country’s capital.
Independence Day this year, however, also marks six months since Russia began the war against the East European country, which continues to spread. Among the dead are 133 Ukrainian athletes and coaches, the Ukrainian Ministry of Youth and Sports announced.
“Russia invaded Ukraine and took their lives: 133 athletes and coaches died on the battlefield and by enemy bombing. The flag will no longer be hoisted and the anthem will no longer be played, in honor of the sporting victories of the deceased athletes,” wrote Youth and Sports Minister Vadym Gutzait.
THE CNN could not independently confirm the number of Ukrainian athletes and coaches who died as a result of the conflict.
The Sports Angels website details the lives of each sportsman killed during the war – some on combat missions, some in their homes destroyed by bombings.
Archer Dmytro Sydoruk, for example, “died defending Ukraine”. After being injured in 2014, Sydoruk represented his country at the first “Invictus Games” in 2017 – an event for wounded soldiers that was founded by Prince Harry – and won a silver medal in archery.
Sydoruk was the coach of the “National Invictus Games” and “Warrior Games” as well as the coordinator of the Invictus team in Lviv.
“He has always tried to help all the veterans who have banded together around the sport. He passed on his skills to children, highly valued teamwork and veteran sports environment,” the Ukraine Sports Committee said in a tribute.
Ivan Bidnyak, a former silver medalist at the European Shooting Championships, was also killed while fighting in the Kherson region. He was 36 years old, represented Ukraine at the World Championships and was the first Ukrainian to compete in shooting at the London 2012 Olympics.
Eleven-year-old gymnast Kateryna Diachenko was reportedly killed after a projectile hit her home in Mariupol on March 10, along with her father, mother and brother.
“Rest in peace, Katya! The young and beautiful gymnast from Mariupol left this world too soon. She is one of the many victims of a senseless war. The thoughts of the entire RG family are with yours.”
Trying to get back to normal life
The announcement by Ukraine’s Ministry of Youth and Sports came a day after the restart of the Ukrainian Premier League, the A-series of local football, as the country tries to find some sense of normal life.
But even these games will be far from normal, with athletes prepared to run to bomb shelters in the event of air strikes. In addition, military personnel, rather than fans, will be present and, if the sirens continue for more than an hour, they will decide with the match officials whether the game should continue.
“We heard a siren yesterday morning before the game,” Darijo Srna, director of football at Shakhtar Donetsk, told Amanda Davies of CNN Sport after his team started the tournament with a 0-0 draw against Metalist 1925 Kharkiv.
“We were at the hotel, starting to go to the stadium. We were just praying we didn’t hear a siren for 90 minutes as otherwise we should have gone underground and wait for the danger to pass,” he said.
“It wasn’t a good result, but our fans are very happy and the Ukrainian people are very happy, because we started doing something we like: playing football”, he celebrated.
The comeback also comes after defending Ukrainian league champions Dynamo Kiev were defeated by Benfica in the last qualifying round of the Champions League and saw their dream of playing the competition come to an end.
Dynamo played the game at home in Lodz, Poland, due to the logistical impossibilities of holding a match in Kiev.
The devastating and protracted conflict claimed the lives of many civilians and combatants. As of 22 August, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has recorded 5,587 civilian deaths in Ukraine, although it notes that the actual numbers are likely to be considerably higher.
*Ben Morse, from CNN contributed to this report
Source: CNN Brasil
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