Ukrainian Olympic athletes will be allowed to train on German soil in preparation for the 2024 Paris Games, Germany’s interior ministry announced on Wednesday.
“We want to make our contribution, to help Ukrainian sportsmen and women in their preparation,” German Sports Minister Nancy Faeser said in a statement.
“We will allow Ukrainian sportsmen and women to train in Germany and prepare for international competitions”.
Ukrainian athletes will be allowed to access Olympic training bases located across Germany in preparation for the Olympics and Paralympics.
Faeser said “Germany is showing solidarity” with Ukrainian athletes “hit hard by the horrific Russian war of aggression.”
At the end of January, Ukrainian Sports Minister Vadym Gutzeit estimated that 220 Olympic athletes or coaches have been killed, while at least 320 training bases and facilities have been destroyed since the war began in February 2022.
Ukraine won one gold, six silver and 12 bronze medals at the 2021 Tokyo games, along with 98 medals including 24 gold at the Paralympics.
The announcement mirrors a similar policy for Syrian athletes fleeing conflict in the lead up to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini utilised these facilities and was one of ten athletes who competed in the Rio Olympics for a Refugee Team.
