Ukrainian Maksym Kagal was Iska kickboxing world champion in 2014. The 30-year-old young man died in action last weekend in Mariupol, where the fighting has been the most intense since the start. of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
It was his trainer who announced the sad news on social networks. “Unfortunately, war takes away the best of us. On March 25, while defending the city of Mariupol as part of the Azov special detachment, Maksym Kagal died. He was just an honest, decent man. Rest in peace my brother, we will take revenge on you,” wrote Oleg Skirta on his Instagram account, paying tribute to him.
Maksym Kagal, who had taken up arms to defend his country against the Russian invasion, had joined the Azov special unit in 2014. A controversial militia for having been created by far-right militants at the start of the war in the east of the country.
Before him, other athletes had already died, weapons in hand. On the fifth day of the war, the former biathlete Yevhen Malyshev, only 19 years old, had died at the front. Just like the young rugby player Mykita Bobrov. Young footballers Vitalii Sapylo and Dmytro Martynenko, aged 21 and 25 respectively, were also killed at the start of the conflict.