Olympic medalist from Ukraine joins fight against Russia: "We'll do what is needed"

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Horuna, who won bronze in the Tokyo Games last summer, is among the many Ukrainian athletes who have dropped everything in their lives to fight off the Russian invasion.

Horuna said he received a call at 4 a.m. on the first day of the war and had a chance to leave the country, but he declined. "We'll do what is needed," he said.

Horuna said he never wanted to be a soldier because of the lack of freedom that comes with it, but he and his fellow Ukrainian citizens have felt a calling to fight in the ongoing conflict.

"We don't have proper military preparation trainings and fighting experience, but anyway, we are on our land, we are at home and we are ready to protect," he said.

"If it is needed, we will kill, of course. We will shoot. There is no other option for us," he added.

Horuna said the experience has been mentally and emotionally taxing, saying he feels "helpless" and "full of anger." When Russia on Wednesday was accused of launching a strike on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Horuna, a father of one, said he asked his commanders to send him there. They shot down the idea because of his lack of military experience. "...