The end of hostilities in Ukraine is not in sight.
Since the beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, many Ukrainian athletes have given their lives to defend their homeland. Some went through real horror during that time.
For months, nothing was known about some athletes who were on the defensive lines. Among those who experienced the saddest fate is the 22-year-old boxer Stanislav Artyomenko.
Artyomenko was among the fighters who defended Azovstal, and during a battle he was arrested and all traces of him disappeared.
His body was only found at the end of September and it was discovered that he had been brutally murdered at the end of July. This was confirmed by his coach Valentin Golovko.
“He went through the seven circles of hell.” The war, the battle for Azovstal, the arrest and finally the miserable murder,” the coach wrote on Instagram.
Golovko added that Artyomenka’s father had already died during the conflict, and the young man left behind his mother and grandmother, who are suffering from cancer.
So far, more than 130 Ukrainian athletes have died during the Ukrainian-Russian military conflict, and this number is believed to be even higher. Meanwhile, more than 3,000 athletes and coaches have left the country.
Numerous sports facilities were destroyed, and the estimated value of the damage to the stadiums and arenas is about 160 million dollars.
As things stand now, many Russian athletes, former or current, are waiting to go to the military front, as Vladimir Putin activates partial mobilization, and so far many athletes have been called up for military service.
