Kyiv (AP) – He has brought his mother to safety, he himself remains: The Ukrainian wrestler Olympic champion and parliamentarian Schan Beleniuk wants to encourage people in his home country – and helps as one of many active or former sports stars in the capital Kyiv.
“I’m not afraid, even if as a politician I’m possibly even more at risk than others,” said the gold medalist at the last Summer Olympics in Tokyo to the German Press Agency. He keeps changing his whereabouts. “But I’ll stay in Kyiv as long as I can. It’s important that we show people that we’re there for them and not run away. We have to protect them,” Beleniuk said of the war since the beginning of the Russian invasion two weeks ago.
Hundreds of thousands are in need in the cities attacked, more than a million people have fled Ukraine and at least hundreds of civilians have been killed, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The true number of victims is likely to be significantly higher, according to OHCHR. During an interview with the Welt television channel, Beleniuk showed a sports hall destroyed by a Russian missile, where he played basketball as a child. “I’m driving past here and I think: This can’t all be true.”
Beleniuk, the Kyiv-born son of a Rwandan father and a Ukrainian mother, is a member of parliament for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s party. “Many people know me and come to me with their requests. They ask for weapons, medicine or food. And I try to forward them to the appropriate places,” said the two-time world champion, who has also worked for several German clubs in recent years has wrestled. On his Instagram account, the 31-year-old provides information about the current situation and criticizes the invaders. He also spoke to police forces “to give them courage and to show them our gratitude”.
Athletes also take up arms
Like Beleniuk, many current and former athletes are trying to help – some even taking up arms – in their country after the Russian invasion. Ex-tennis pro Sergej Stachowski volunteered as a reservist. “I have no military experience, but I have private experience with a gun,” he told Sky Sports.
The 36-year-old father of three young children, who played at the Australian Open a few weeks ago, went back to Ukraine. “I wouldn’t wish on any father in the world that he had to make that decision,” he said in a Eurosport interview. Actually, after the end of his career, he wanted to enjoy life with his family. “But instead I’m here in Kyiv with a gun trying to show that Russia is doing the wrong thing.”
Stachowski posted a photo of himself with his family on Instagram and wrote: “We are all fighting for the future of our children … for a world with a future.” His Serbian ex-colleague Novak Djokovic offered him help for Ukraine, financial or otherwise, Stachowski said there. The German biathlete Erik Lesser gave him his channel for 24 hours in a solidarity action on Instagram. “This is my Kyiv. As you can see, these are not military buildings. Russian rockets are killing civilians here,” Stachovsky wrote about a picture of a destroyed skyscraper.
“Close the skies over Ukraine! Save innocent lives,” he appealed on his own account to NATO and for the establishment of a no-fly zone. He spoke in a video together with Beleniuk, football coach and ex-national player Sergei Rebrow, boxing heavyweight world champion Alexander Usyk and defender Oleksandr Zinchenko from English football champions Manchester City.
Sports stars fight for their homeland
These are just a few of the many examples: Former biathlon world champion Dmytro Pidrutschnji suddenly defended his country just a few weeks after taking part in the Winter Olympics in Beijing. The brothers Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, who shaped professional boxing for years, announced that they wanted to stay in Ukraine and fight against Russian troops. Usyk and ex-lightweight champion Wassyl Lomatschenko made similar statements. Jurij Wernydub, who sensationally won the Champions League at Real Madrid last September as a coach with his football team Sheriff Tiraspol from Moldova, has also volunteered.
One player who has not yet condemned the Russian war of aggression is the record-breaking Ukrainian soccer player Anatoly Tymoshchuk. The angry association threatened the former Bayern Munich professional with the withdrawal of his coaching license and honors. 42-year-old Tymoshchuk is the assistant coach to Russian champions Zenit St. Petersburg from the hometown of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin.
Vitaly Klitschko, Kiev’s mayor, meanwhile called on the residents to hold on in view of the approaching Russian troops. “The capital is preparing for defense,” he said. Brother Vladimir spoke of the “biggest fight of his life.” Support from Germany and other parts of the world can be felt in Ukraine, said Beleniuk. But she must not let up. “We are strong. But we don’t know for how much longer.”