Earlier this month, Ukrainian skeleton rider Vladyslav Heraskevych flashed a sign at the Olympics: “No war in Ukraine.” On Sunday, he was hunkered down about 150 kilometers (90 miles) outside of his nation’s capital with weapons nearby in case he needs to defend his country.
“I am a student,” the 23-year-old said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “I am not experienced in these type of things. But I am ready to stand strong and help in any way I can.”
With Russian troops encircling the capital of Kyiv, Heraskevych was among a rapidly growing list of athletes from Ukraine and about two dozen other countries who sent an open letter to Olympic and Paralympic leaders, urging them to immediately suspend the Russian and Belarusian Olympic and Paralympic Committees.