KIEV, 20 Feb. (DPA/EP) –
Ukrainian Sports Minister Vadym Gutzeit has highlighted the “special” role Ukrainian athletes are playing in the war against Russia as they continue to train amid the aftermath of the war.
“I’m proud of each and every one of them because they train and compete while missiles are rained down on us, our cities are bombed, their mothers and fathers die, they lose their houses or apartments, they lose their homes. They are showing the whole world that we are one strong nation,” he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Monday.
Friday marks the first anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion. Sport is a “driving factor” for Ukraine, said Gutzeit, who also chairs the Ukrainian National Olympic Committee.
“All our athletes compete in the Ukrainian colors, they stand on the podiums with our flag in their hands. The whole world must see that Ukraine was, is and will remain,” he said.
The athletes have shared with the world what was happening in Ukraine and have fought, according to him, against the propaganda. “That’s why it’s so important that our athletes are represented everywhere,” he remarked.
However, the Ukrainian sports minister foresees difficult times for sport in his country as a result of the war. “Many families, many mothers with their children have fled. The next generation has left home,” he said.
“We are losing at least one generation of people and therefore of athletes. This will already have repercussions in the 2028 Summer Olympics, and even more in 2032 and 2036,” he said, while reporting that 231 Ukrainian athletes have killed during the invasion, 35 athletes are in prison and 3,000 who were active are fighting directly on the front lines.