Maxim Petrenko gave his life in the fight for the independence of Ukraine.
Ukrainian military and professional rock climber Maxim Petrenko died in the war against Russian occupiers.
Ukrainian athlete Evgeniy Krivosheitsev reported the tragic news on his Facebook page.
“Sad news… In the battle with Russian occupiers for the city of Toretsk, defending Ukraine from Putin's hordes, my old friend and long-time partner in rock climbing, Maksym Petrenko, died,” the post says.
Petrenko died at the age of 46. He was born in Lugansk. Maksym repeatedly won medals, including gold, at youth competitions.
His highest award at adult international competitions was a bronze medal at the 1999 World Championships in Birmingham. He became the first and only Ukrainian to win a medal at adult world championships in climbing in the discipline of difficulty.
Earlier it was reported that a football coach from Kyiv, Denis Sklyarenko, died in the war against the Russian invaders.