The Russian Federation's war in Ukraine killed 456 Ukrainian athletes

The Russian Federation has killed more than 400 Ukrainian athletes since the beginning of the great war, photo from open sources

456 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have died as a result of Russian aggression since the start of the full-scale invasion.

This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine.

As the head of the ministry, Matvii Bidnyi, noted in an interview with Deutsche Welle, the number of dead and injured athletes is increasing almost every day.

«Today, the elite of Ukrainian sports defend our independence and our future with weapons in their hands. We are suffering big losses. Just last week, a two-time European champion in weightlifting died, he was in fourth place at the Olympics in Rio,» Matvii Bidnyi emphasized.

According to the head of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, more than 500 sports facilities and 100 youth infrastructure facilities in Ukraine were destroyed due to Russian attacks.

It was previously reported that on June 5, Mykolaiv coach and multiple powerlifting champion Oleksii Sliuschenko, who defended Ukraine in the ranks of the 123rd brigade based in the Mykolaiv region, died near Kherson.