Andrii, who lives about 70 kilometers (44 miles) from the front line in eastern Ukraine, had served two years in combat and described his injuries — a concussion and taking shrapnel in his right leg from an exploding land mine — as “minor.” Like so many other Ukrainians, he’s lost friends and loved ones.

Ukrainian coal miner Andrii’s face lit up when he talked about meeting Oleksandr Usyk. “Wow!” the 36-year-old says in English. Andrii and more than a dozen other war veterans were on hand when Usyk beat Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion.

Oleksandr Usyk kept his heavyweight belt by taking down Daniel Dubois, dominating the rematch of their controversial 2023 fight