489 Ukrainian athletes killed in Russian invasion - MP

This was announced by MP, First Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Youth and Sports Zhan Beleniuk, Ukrinform reports, citing the press service of the Verkhovna Rada.

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

"As of today, 489 Ukrainian athletes have been killed. The Olympics is another important platform that helps to tell the world the truth about the war in Ukraine and the war crimes of the Russian Federation," the MP said.

According to him, it is necessary to use all opportunities to let the world know the truth about the war in Ukraine.

"People need to know what is happening in our country. This is no less important than the performances at the Olympic Games. All Ukrainian athletes in Paris are ambassadors of the state. That is why we are uniting and drawing attention to the issue of Russian aggression. When people know the truth, they will put pressure on their governments to help Ukraine more actively," the MP said.

He reminded that only 15 Russian and 16 Belarusian athletes are currently participating in the Olympics, which is largely the result of a large-scale campaign conducted by Ukraine at various levels to prevent athletes from the aggressor country and Belarus from competing.

"It is very good that in many disciplines, the Russians decided to withdraw, for example, the gymnastics and wrestling federations. At the same time, some Russian athletes were blocked, preventing them from coming to the competition. I think this is a positive result. After all, when we started the fight to prevent Russians from entering the Olympic Games, we did not even expect this outcome. As a matter of principle, we are in favour of excluding Russian athletes from the Olympic Games altogether," Beleniuk said.

As reported, the Ukrainian house Volia Space is operating in Paris' La Villette Park during the Olympic Games. It serves as a national centre and meeting place for Ukrainian athletes, coaches, government officials, Ukrainian and foreign media.