I cannot even imagine the pain this woman has endured. Olesiaâs entire family was killed by russians, and she joined the army to fight them.
Olesia was a surgeon, a wife, and a mother of two. Her parents lived in Mariupol.
When the full-scale war began in 2022, Olesia's parents helped evacuate civilians. After the russians captured Mariupol, collaborators betrayed them, and both were executed. Their bodies lay in the street for nearly three months before the russians dumped them into a pit.
Olesia's children were staying with relatives in the Kyiv region. Her daughter was four, and her son was eleven. Their evacuation bus was struck by an enemy projectile, killing them both.
After their childrenâs deaths, Olesia's husband, also a surgeon, joined the army. In September, while evacuating the wounded from Bakhmut, a missile struck his car.
Having lost her entire family, Olesia returned to Ukraine from Italy and joined the army as a combat medic.
There are thousands of stories like this in Ukraine. People who lost everything. By this war, russians have set in motion a force that will hunt them for generations. Ukraine will never forget.
ãNathanâs relationship with his audience has always been grounded in respect rather than theatrics. He does not reach for attention; he earns it. When he lands a jump, there is a split second of stillness before applause detonates. The performance grows outward from that point.
The IOC has banned not the Ukrainian athlete, but its own reputation. Future generations will recall this as a moment of shame.
He simply wanted to commemorate fellow athletes killed in war. There is nothing wrong with that under any rules or ethics.
The IOC intimidated, disrespected, and even lectured our athlete and other Ukrainians on how they should keep quiet about âone of 130 conflicts in the worldâ.
The IOC has also systemically failed to confront the greatest abuser of international sports and the Olympic Charter â Russia.
A country that started three invasions during the Olympic Truce in the past three decades, implemented the largest state-funded doping program, killed 650 Ukrainian athletes and coaches, and damaged 800 sports facilities in Ukraine.
These are Russians who must be banned, not the commemoration of their victims. None of them are âneutralâ.
If the Olympic Creed says that âthe most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take partâ, then @iocmedia betrayed it completely by preventing @heraskevych from taking part and betrayed 650 Ukrainian athletes and coaches killed by Russia.
We are proud to have Vladyslav who has not betrayed them. Thank you for your principles and bravery.
Vladyslav Geraskevich was disqualified before the first skeleton race of the 2026 Olympic Games, - Suspiltse
Just an hour earlier, the Ukrainian athlete had recorded a video in which he denounced the IOC's interpretation of the rules as discriminatory.
He demanded that the ban on wearing a "memorial helmet" be lifted, that an apology be issued for the pressure exerted on him, and that generators be provided for sports facilities in Ukraine.
The pro-Russian, corrupt IOC has its own disgusting rules.
Many Ukrainian defenders have been held in Russian captivity for years. For years, they have endured extremely harsh conditions, including torture, hunger, and abuse. They have spent years without holidays, a home, warmth, or access to medical care.
This cannot go on. We urge the world not to remain silent about Ukrainian prisoners of war. Every one of them must return home.
#FreeUkrainianDefenders