'War is a great motivation': Ukraine's Paralympic chief reflects on historic gold medal haul

Valerii Sushkevych knows all too well the emotional toll the war in Ukraine has taken on his athletes, but the president of the country's Paralympic committee says it has also helped them at the Beijing Games to win their biggest haul of gold medals ever.

Ukraine's Paralympic team barely made it to the Chinese capital due to logistical challenges caused by the war, which began with Russia's invasion on Feb. 24.

Ukrainian cities have been under heavy Russian bombardment while the team has been performing in Beijing, and more than two million refugees, mostly women and children, have now fled to neighbouring countries in Europe.

"That's one of the reasons why we have had such great results at these Games. We won nine medals in one day [earlier in the week], including two podium sweeps," Sushkevych told Reuters at the Zhangjiakou Paralympic Village.

For a relatively small country that isn't seen as a force at the Olympics, Ukraine has long been a powerhouse in Para sports. In Beijing, the contingent has won a remarkable 25 medals, including nine gold medals, to sit behind only China in the table.

The journey to the podium hasn't been easy: worried about the fate of their families, most athletes have slept little in the last two weeks, desperately hoping for any positive news from back home.

"Every morning, they call their mother, father, grandmother, daughter and wait for an answer. And they are so afraid that they may not get a response," said the 67-year-old Sushkevych, who had polio as a child and later competed as a Para swimmer.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" and denies firing on civilians.

The invasion forced the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to ban athletes from Russia and