489 Ukrainian athletes died due to Russian aggression

This was announced by MP, First Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Youth and Sports Zhan Beleniuk, according to the website of the Ukrainian parliament.

He said that in Paris, the Ukrainian house Volia Space hosted a multimedia presentation "Revived" about Ukrainian athletes who became victims of Russian aggression.

"As of today, we know about 489 killed Ukrainian athletes. The Olympics is another important platform that helps to inform the world," emphasized Beleniuk.

The MP also reminded that only 15 Russian and 16 Belarusian athletes are taking part in this year's Olympic Games, which, according to him, was the result of a large-scale Ukrainian campaign. Its goal was to prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing.

"It's great that in many disciplines, the Russians decided to withdraw, for example, in gymnastics and wrestling. At the same time, some Russian athletes were blocked, preventing them from coming to the competition. I believe this is a positive result, because when we started fighting to prevent Russians from participating in the Olympic Games, we did not even expect this outcome. As a matter of principle, we stand for having no Russian athletes at the Olympic Games at all," Beleniuk added.

• As of 16 May 2024, it was reported that 456 athletes and coaches had been killed in the Russian war on Ukraine.