On the night of March 31, the defender of Ukraine and four-time world kickboxing champion Vitaliy Merinov died in the hospital from his injuries. Merinov was also the champion of Ukraine in universal combat and a master of sports in boxing. He also served as President of the Ivano-Frankivsk Boxing Federation. The athlete went to war on the first day of a full-scale invasion. He received a gunshot wound in the leg, but after that he was able to recover and return to the front. Merinov is survived by his wife and two-year-old daughter.
