Athletes of Ukraine not only continue to train in war conditions, but also maintain an informational front.
During the war, hundreds of sports facilities in Ukraine were already damaged.
But the athletes not only continue to train in the conditions of war, but also hold the information front.
– “It hurts us to look at the destroyed sports halls, stadiums and our houses. We call on the whole world to support the boycott of the performances of Russian athletes and teams in any status at any competitions as long as the war continues in Ukraine. We appeal to all athletes, all countries – support our demands, convey the scale of the tragedy to the presidents of your sports federations. We just need your help right now to fight for our freedom, life and peace.”
Kharkiv
School No. 134.
Destroyed at the very beginning of the war. Instead of calls for breaks, a siren sounds here, warning local residents of the threat of an airstrike. Miraculously, the basketball court, located behind the school,
survived. Children who stayed and live in Kharkiv can now train on it.
On the picture: a children’s group of boys and girls trains on the basketball court of about 134
Kharkiv schools.
“Dynamo” Stadium
In recent years, this stadium has hosted games of the Ukrainian rugby league, as well as athletics training for athletes. In March, several aerial bombs were dropped on the stadium, which partially destroyed the stands and the covering of the athletics tracks.
On the picture: Rugby club “Legion XIII” trains at the “Dynamo” stadium damaged by rockets.
One of the warheads pierced the tribune and several layers of the technical covering of the arena.
Track and field athletes continue their running training on the undamaged surface, running past the site of the airstrike.
“Aquaarena” pool
Near the pool, the roof was breached, the projectile went through the women’s locker room and broke the glass facade of the room where the pool is located.
On the picture:
Ihor Chervinskyi – Ukrainian swimmer, multiple winner of the European and World Swimming
Championships, participant of four Olympic Games stands in the middle of a non-working pool.
A young swimmer puts on a cap in the women’s locker room, which was hit by a projectile, leaving a huge hole in the ceiling.
“Unifecht”
On March 5, 2022, the aviation of the Russian troops bombed the “Unifecht” sports club of KhNU named after V. N. Karazina, in Kharkiv. As the athletes themselves say, the plane with the bombs flew very low and could not help but understand that it was blowing up an educational institution and residential buildings, not a military facility.
One of the bombs blew through all the floors of the fencing building, leaving the sport in the country without a major training center.
On the picture: fencers in the completely destroyed Unifecht hall.
Kyiv
Sports complex “Avangard”
The youth basketball and gymnastics center experienced all the horrors of war when rockets bombarded the television tower next to the hall. Broken windows, twisted parquet and a ceiling that collapsed in places.
On the picture: basketball players entered the former home hall to leave the ball in the ring.
Football field in Obolon
In March, one of the rockets hit a residential building in the Obolon district of Kyiv. Surprisingly, the football field near the house remained intact and children’s football teams practice and play on it even now.
On the picture: young people from Kyiv play a football practice game near a destroyed building.
Gym “Forward”
The hall is located on Prospect named after Valery Lobanovskyi was fired upon in February and suffered significant damage, of which only the roof has been partially restored to date. Bodybuilders and fitness bikinis of the Ukrainian IFBB national team train here, now they are training for the international competitions “Arnold Classic Europe”. Athletes of the FBBU say that they are boycotting all tournaments in which representatives of Russia and Belarus will be admitted.
On the picture: warm-up of bodybuilders, in a sports hall without walls and windows.
Mykhailivska Square
An exhibition of Russian equipment that burned down on Mykhailivska Square.
On the picture:
A girl covers the muzzle of a tank with a basketball, protesting against the war and calling for a
boycott of Russian athletes at tournaments of any level.
Irpin
At the entrance to the suburbs of Kyiv, a huge pile of burnt cars can be seen. They were collected in the form of a wall so as not to obstruct the passage of the road. But there is enough space nearby on the court to play basketball.
Center of the Tennis Federation of Ukraine
The new tennis courts were supposed to host a children’s tournament after February 24, but were shelled and bombed for a month. The tension dome of the covered part of the courts was completely destroyed, and on other sites there were peeled and burned traces of the coating and bomb pits.
On the picture:
Two tennis players are standing in the crater from the explosion in the middle of the tennis court in Irpen.
Young tennis players demonstrate their serve at the start of the game.
#BoycottRussianSport, #TurnOffRussia, #StandWithUkraine #StopWar
All photos were taken in Kyiv, Kharkiv and the city of Irpin in June 2022.
Ph. Mykola Synelnikov
facebook.com/nikolay.synelnykov
Матеріал підготовлено за підтримки IMS (International Media Support) та ГС “Консорціум ветеранських організацій сходу”