'My heart is torn': As war rages on at home, these young disabled Ukrainian swimmers are stranded in Turkey

By Jomana Karadsheh and Sana Noor Haq, CNN

Updated 0845 GMT (1645 HKT) April 23, 2022

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(CNN)On February 17, a team of young disabled Ukrainian swimmers traveled to Turkey to nurture their ambitions of becoming elite professionals.

The camp of seven budding athletes arrived with their three coaches in the town of Silivri, just outside of Istanbul, to take part in a two-week training program. A week later their lives were upended when Russia invaded Ukraine. Since the invasion began on February 24, there have been deadly airstrikes, and horrific scenes of mass graves and murdered civilians across Ukraine — while global leaders have accused Russian forces of carrying out war