Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych wore a helmet with images of compatriots killed in Russia’s war on Ukraine during a Winter Olympics training session in Cortina, Italy, making good on his pledge to use the games to keep attention on the invasion.
The images include teenage weightlifter Alina Perehudova, boxer Pavlo Ischenko, ice hockey player Oleksiy Loginov, actor and athlete Ivan Kononenko, diving athlete and coach Mykyta Kozubenko, shooter Oleksiy Habarov and dancer Daria Kurdel.
“Some of them were my friends,” 26-year-old Heraskevych told Reuters after training at the Cortina sliding center,
Heraskevych, who also served as Ukraine’s flag bearer during the opening ceremony, was known previously for holding up a “No War in Ukraine” sign at the Beijing Olympics just days before Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“Strong symbol for Ukraine”
This year marks Heraskevych’s third Olympics. He finished 12th at the 2018 Games and 18th in Beijing 2022.
He told AFP last Thursday that he was “proud” to represent his country at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics this year.
“It’s a great honor, for me, but also for Ukraine in these times,” he said. “I believe it’s a very strong symbol for Ukraine that we are still standing strong, we are still among the best nations despite the war in our country.”
However, he remarked that some of his relatives may not be able to watch the opening ceremony due to blackouts.
“I hope [they will be able to see the ceremony], if there’s electricity, because it’s a very hard time, there are a lot of blackouts now in Ukraine.”
650 Ukrainian athletes and coaches killed by Russia
Perehudova, a young weightlifter, died in the Russian shelling of blockaded Mariupol as she attempted to run out of her house at her mother’s side. She was just 14 years old.
Ischenko, a four-time champion in strongman multi-athletics and a record holder, was killed during a combat mission in October 2025.
Loginov, an ice hockey champion, was also killed during a combat mission in November 2023 after volunteering to go to the front at just 23 years old.
Kononenko, who had years of experience in the film industry and competitive sport, was declared killed in action in December 2025. He had returned to the front after sustaining a life-altering injury.
Kozubenko, a Ukrainian Master of Sport in diving, was declared killed in action in June 2025 at the age of 31.
Habarov, a shooter who also held the title Master of Sport, was declared killed in action in August 2025.
Kurdel, a dancesport champion, died from a shrapnel wound after a Russian airstrike on a residential building in the city of Kryvyi Rih in July 2022. She was just 20 years old.
According to Andriy Sybiha, the foreign minister, over 650 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed and more than 800 sports facilities have been destroyed over the course of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Sports are an integral part of Russian war propaganda”
“The war has taken a heavy toll on the Ukrainian sports community, but it hasn’t broken the spirit of Ukrainian athletes,” Sybiha said on Feb. 6 as he spoke out against easing restrictions on Russia and Belarus participating in the Games.
“Russia is the number one abuser of international sports and the Olympic Charter,” he added. “Over the past two decades, it has started three invasions during the Olympic Truce and ran an unprecedented state-led doping campaign.”
“Sports are an integral part of Russian war propaganda, directly intertwined with the Russian military. At the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, 28 out of Russia’s 32 medals were won by Russian athletes who were also acting servicemen of the Russian army.”
Ukraine’s Sports Minister Matviy Bidny on Feb. 3 said that Russia uses sport to “whitewash” its aggression and to “wash the blood of Ukrainians off its hands through sport.”
In the wake of Russia’s invasion in 2022, competitors from Russia and its ally Belarus were largely excluded from international sporting events. Since then, the IOC has supported a limited and conditional return of athletes from both countries.