Two professional soccer players, one of them a Jew, have been killed while fighting for Ukraine against Russia’s unprovoked invasion of the country.

Vitalii Sapylo, a player for the Karpaty Lviv team, and Dmitry Martynenko, who played for FC Gostomel, were both killed in battle. Sapylo died in combat with Russian forces while defending the city of Kyiv, while Martynenko was killed alongside his mother in a Russian bombing of his home.

Martynenko and his mother are Jewish. His father, who was also in the home when the blast occurred, survived the attack.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)