'This is not saving, this is destruction': Ukrainian MMA champion Yaroslav Amosov recounts the horrors of war

Exclusive by Matias Grez, CNN

Updated 1536 GMT (2336 HKT) May 10, 2022

Yaroslav Amosov, resting his head on his hands, with the rest of his fellow Ukrainian soldiers as they prepare to face Russian forces in Irpin, Ukraine.

(CNN)As MMA fighter Yaroslav Amosov walks through the streets surrounding his hometown of Irpin, which sits around 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) west of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, there are fleeting moments when it seems like an ordinary day in May.

The skies are clear and quiet, and birds can be heard chirping in the trees overhead. Amosov describes the evening as «calm.»But for many Ukrainians, such moments have been few and far between since Russia began its invasion on February 24 and every few steps, Amosov is reminded of the destruction Vladimir Putin's war has brought to his homeland.Back in April, local authorities said around 50% of Irpin's critical infrastructure had been destroyed.«It's hard to look at your city that was once full of happiness, life,» Amosov, a reigning world champion, tells CNN Sport in an exclusive interview from Ukraine.Read More«It was always very beautiful here, people were happy, they were happy with their life and took pleasure in it.»Then simply to look at the city now, which is on fire, which is getting destroyed and it becomes horrible to look at. You couldn't really go driving around the city because the roads were covered with trees, in some places, there were parts of houses. Destruction."The Ukrainian is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters of his generation and, at 26-0, currently holds the longest active unbeaten streak in all of MMA. On May 13, he should have been defending his welterweight world title at Bellator's event at Wembley Arena in London.