The 58-year-old Bubka, who was crowned world outdoor champion on six successive occasions and broke the world record 35 times wrote a letter addressing the consequences brought by violence brought by Russia to Ukraine, citing the difficulties they are experiencing.

“My people live in danger. It is very hard for me – the time of hard work and the time of decisions on how to help my country, my compatriots, athletes, coaches, my colleagues, and friends, who need as ever,” Bubka said in the letter.

“Over a million people, mostly women and children, have been forcibly displaced from their homes. Millions of people lose their livelihoods and stay without medical care, food and clothes on the Ukrainian territories” he added.

In response, Patafa assured to extend assistance to Ukraine to support refugees, displaced innocent civilians, athletes, and children, an initiative called “Waging Peace for Athletes and Kids in Ukraine” and to prioritize “first aid medical materials, hygiene products, clothes for kids, long-lasting food and financial support”.

Bubka believed that the soft power in sports would enable a uniting force and help Ukraine to recover.

“From the sports community side, we are trying as much as we can to channel and reinforce the soft power of our global unity to support people in Ukraine as much as we can in these unprecedented times”.

“We are inviting everybody to help thousands of women and children that left their homes without the opportunity to take anything with them,” Bubka said.

Patafa also believed in the same manner and remembered how Nelson Mandela campaigned for the power of sports in any community.

Meanwhile, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said that he has been in daily contact with Bubka.