President Zhelensky says the Russian military is simply destroying and killing 15 civilians, including an 8-year-old child, near Kharkiv.

The Ukrainian swimmer, whose father is at war, won bronze on the world stage

It remains to be seen whether Ukrainian swimmer Mikhail Romanoz will win a bronze medal in the 800-meter freestyle at the World Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Tuesday.

Romanzuk’s father is fighting in eastern Ukraine, where Russia denies full military control of the region, almost four months after it began its invasion.

“He’s in a difficult situation, it’s a difficult time.”Swimmer Romanzuk did not dare to give details for fear that his father would find out his whereabouts. “It is not possible for them to connect to the network because the Russians can search everything”He explained. But every morning he sends me [un message] That he is well. ⁇

Romanzuk, 25 – he still plans to run the 1500m and then the 10km and 5km open water races – almost never made it to Budapest. “My mind must go to war to defend my home”, He explained. Said Romanzuk. “We decided there was nothing I could do with the gun. For me, it’s good to continue training and do better than I do. “The swimmer finished bronze in the 800m and silver in the 1500m at last year’s Tokyo Olympics. “Through my swimming, I can tell the whole world about the situation in Ukraine.”

As training facilities in his country were destroyed by the war in his country, Mikhail Romanzuk was invited by German swimmer Florian Welbrock – who finished second to American Bobby Fink in the 800m – to join him in training in Germany.

“It was hard because, mentally, you’re at war, you only read the news and you only get three or four hours of sleep.”He agreed. “I’m very proud of all the Ukrainians. That’s all I can say. I’m proud of the people, the government, the president.