Thousands of runners gathered in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv this weekend as the city held its first full marathon since Russia's invasion.
Last year's marathon and dozens of other events were cancelled due to the war, but some have since returned as residents seek normality amid the frequent air raids.
"You need to try to make your life easier by any means possible," said Vlada, a 32-year-old participant in the long-distance race.
"If sports help you cope with anxiety or other difficult situations in life, then of course you need to do it," she said.
Over 5,000 people are taking part in the race this year, organizers said, with half the proceeds going towards buying equipment for the military.
The race comes after Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal warned last week that Russia had restarted a systemic campaign of air strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
During winter last year Russian forces repeatedly attacked Ukraine's energy grid, leaving millions without power, heating and water, including in the capital.
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Comments ( 1)
Brilliant.! Let the fickle 'tiktok' world focus on Ukraine for their sports and other entertainment if that is what it takes to draw attention to Ukraine. Flood the country with a packed calendar full of with sympathetic international athletes and stars to once again draw attention to the need to stop Putin's regime. A rock benefit concert seems appropriate. Host a "Freedom Cup",or "Freedom Bowl" for Charity pro-league play-offs. Invite all top rated American reality shows to do an episode there "Ukraines got talent" or perhaps "The worlds got talent" (Simon Cowell affiliated), "Survivor", "Tough as nails", "Forged in Fire", "Eurovision intermission", "Hells Kitchen", "Holmes makes it right"....Jeopardy.....invite them all. The empathetic folks will come. Let the foreign news cover their favourite entertainment events if they tire of war images and budget talks.
Of course there is risk. Participants would be warned but promised a best effort to protect them and their audience. Putin does not value any life even ones dear to the star struck global public. Maybe as extra insurance, host these in a venue built right against Ukraine's border with large NATO member city so that any missile could not but trigger article 5.
The worlds short attention span needs to be perpetually drawn to Ukraine. Maybe there is war fatigue amongst some citizens, but I'd guess such folks still indulge in entertainment escapes.