Ukrainian World Kickboxing Champion Maksym Kagal ‘Killed in Combat Fighting Alongside Soldiers in Mariupol’
- Maksym Kagal, 30, was fighting Russian forces in Mariupol when he died
- Trainer Oleg Skirta said he fights as part of Ukraine’s Azov Battalion
- Kagal from Kremenchug won the ISKA World Kickboxing Championship in 2014
A Ukrainian world kickboxing champion was killed in action while fighting alongside soldiers in the besieged city of Mariupol, his trainer said.
Maksym Kagal, 30, was fighting invading Russian forces as part of Ukraine’s Azov Battalion in Mariupol on Friday when he was killed, his trainer Oleg Skirta said.
“Unfortunately, war takes the best. On March 25, Maksym Kagal died while defending the city of Mariupol as part of the Azov special forces,” Mr Skirta said in a statement on Facebook.
Maksym Kagal, 30, was fighting invading Russian forces as part of Ukraine’s Azov Battalion in Mariupol on Friday when he was killed, his trainer Oleg Skirta said
Kagal from the Ukrainian city of Kremenchug won the ISKA Kickboxing World Championship in 2014
Mr. Skirta described Kagal as “the first world champion in kickboxing from the glorious city of Kremenchug, the first world champion among adults in the team of Ukraine and just an honest and decent person”.
Kagal from the Ukrainian city of Kremenchug won the ISKA Kickboxing World Championship in 2014.
The kickboxer, like hundreds of other Ukrainian civilians, had decided to take up arms and defend Ukraine from invading Russian forces when he was killed in Mariupol.
Mariupol has seen the brunt of Russian firepower, “turning the city to dust.”
Analysts at Britain’s Defense Intelligence Agency said on Monday that Russia gained the most ground in southern Ukraine near Mariupol, where heavy fighting continued as Putin’s forces attempted to seize the strategic port.
But the Defense Ministry said logistical bottlenecks, a lack of momentum and low morale were hitting the Russian invaders, combined with “aggressive fighting by Ukrainians.”
Local mayor Vadym Boichenko said the situation in Mariupol, where about 160,000 civilians are trapped without heat or electricity, is so dire that the port city needs to be fully evacuated.
Boichenko said 26 buses were waiting to evacuate civilians who had been under constant bombardment from Russian forces for days, but Vladimir Putin’s men had not agreed to allow them safe passage.
The 160,000 civilians trapped in the city are surrounded by Russian forces, with supplies of food, water and medicines constantly dwindling.
A view of destroyed buildings and vehicles after shelling in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Sunday
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said Russian troops are “turning the city to dust” and described the situation in Mariupol as “catastrophic” with people struggling to survive.
Mayor Boichenko said: “The situation in the city remains difficult. The people are beyond the limit of humanitarian catastrophe. We must evacuate Mariupol completely.”
Speaking about the Russian troops not agreeing to allow civilians safe passage from Mariupol, the mayor said: “Russian Federation is playing with us.
‘We are in the hands of the invaders.’
Russia said last week it had evacuated several hundred thousand people from the war zone, but Ukraine said up to 15,000 civilians had been deported to Russia from the left bank area of Mariupol.
Mariupol is widely seen as a strategic prize for the Russian invaders to bridge the gap between Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, and two separatist enclaves in eastern Ukraine.
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