A Ukrainian athlete has pulled out of the Winter Paralympic Games after her father was captured by Russian soldiers.
Anastasiia Laletina, 19, withdrew from her middle distance sitting event after receiving the frightening news.
The teen will remain in Zhangjiakou, the venue for the cross-country skiing and biathlon competitions in China, and will fly to Poland with the rest of the Ukrainian squad once the Paralympics has concluded.
The team’s spokesperson Natalia Harach delivered a chilling message about Laletina’s dad and was left absolutely devastated.
“'Her father is a soldier in the Ukrainian army and (was taken) prisoner by Russian soldiers,” she said. “They beat him.”
“She was very upset and couldn't take part in the race.”
The athlete began para Nordic skiing in 2019 and was competing in her first Paralympic Games.
A house of one of the the team’s assistant coaches has been bombed in Kharkiv, one of the Ukrainian cities most affected by Russian shelling.
More than two million people have now fled the war in Ukraine, according to the United Nations.
UN estimates put the civilian death toll at nearing 500 - though the true figure is believed to be much higher.
The UK's Ministry of Defence said its latest intelligence suggested Ukrainian cities were continuing to be attacked but Vladimir Putin ’s assault on the capital Kyiv had failed to make major progress.
"Fighting north-west of Kyiv remains ongoing with Russian forces failing to make any significant breakthroughs," the MoD said.
"The cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Mariupol remain encircled by Russian forces and continue to suffer heavy Russian shelling.
"Ukrainian air defences appear to have enjoyed considerable success against Russia ’s modern combat aircraft, probably preventing them achieving any degree of control of the air."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said efforts are under way to evacuate some 18,000 people from the capital Kyiv and other towns such as Sumy, where 5,000 civilians boarded buses and secured a passage out of the town via a safe corridor.
An attempt to evacuate thousands and deliver badly needed food to Mariupol, along with water and medicine via a safe corridor failed on Tuesday.
Ukrainian officials reporting that Russian forces had fired on the convoy before it even reached the city.
