War
Article reserved for subscribers
From national team biathletes to SK Dnipro-1 footballers and Olympic boxing champions, several athletes join the front lines to defend their country.
After their mobilization on social networks, Ukrainian athletes opt directly for the front. On the fifth day of the Moscow offensive and as the Russian troops gained ground, more and more athletes signed up militarily to defend their country. For now, the decision is up to them. The general mobilization decreed Thursday by the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, obliges men between 18 and 60 to remain on the territory but does not compel them to conscription.
However, this rule does not prevail for certain sportsmen: those resulting from disciplines in connection with the army. This is particularly the case for biathletes. Thus, while they have just returned from the Winter Olympics in Beijing, most members of the Ukrainian team will have to commit. And trade the ski suit for the military uniform. Dmytro Pidrutchnyi, world pursuit champion in 2019, announced it on Friday on his Ins account…