Titled Ukrainian biathlete Vita Semerenko reported that on March 23, her grandmother died as a result of shelling by Russian troops of the village of Krasnopillya, Sumy region.
The words of the Olympic champion are quoted by the press service of the NOC of Ukraine .
"On March 23, my grandmother's heart stopped beating. On the 21st, my grandmother turned 90. She could still live, but the damned Russians took her life. When they violently erased my Krasnopillya in three days, they also took my grandmother. They erased my home, erased her life, erased her memory. Damned inhumans, burn in hell for all the evil you brought to this earth. You are not people - you are animals, and retribution will come," Vita Semerenko wrote.
Meanwhile, the NOC expressed condolences over the loss and added that Ukraine's position remains unwavering.
"As long as Russian troops, with the support of the Belarusian government, continue to wage their brutal war against the Ukrainian people, it is necessary to introduce a ban on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in any international competitions in any status," the report says.
Recall that, amid talks about a lasting peace, Russia launched guided aerial bomb strikes on the Sumy region on March 20. There are casualties.