A 17-year-old member of Ukraine’s youth national basketball team, Volodymyr Yermakov, was killed in an attack in Düsseldorf, Germany, on 10 February, the Kyiv Basketball Federation (FBK) reported on 11 February.

Volodymyr Yermakov and his teammate Artem Kozachenko played for the ART Giants (U-19) youth team from Dusseldorf. On the eve of their next match, the young basketball players were attacked with knives in the street “simply because they were Ukrainian,” according to the Kyiv Basketball Federation.

Yermakov died in the hospital, while Kozachenko reportedly remains in intensive care.

The FBK reported that local police are investigating the case.

The Kyiv Basketball Federation expressed condolences to Yermakov’s family, calling his death “an irreparable loss.”

Yermakov had played basketball since childhood. As a Ukrainian youth national team (U-16) member, he played at the 2022 European Championships in Bulgaria.

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