Shakhtar Donetsk's youth team coach killed in Russia's war on Ukraine: CEO

By Yunus Kaymaz

ISTANBUL (AA) - A youth team coach of Ukraine's football club Shakhtar Donetsk was killed in the ongoing war with Russia, Serhiy Palkin, the club's CEO, said on Thursday.

In a Facebook post, Palkin said the coach died after being hit by a bullet, but did not identify the coach.

Earlier, the International Federation of Professional Footballers had confirmed that Ukrainian footballers Vitalii Sapyloand Dmytro Martynenko were killed in the ongoing military conflict.

Russia's war on Ukraine has led to international outrage, with the European Union, US, UK and others implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin said the "special military operation" will last until all goals set were achieved. He started the war on Feb. 24 to "demilitarize" and "denazify" Ukraine.

According to UN figures, at least 249 civilians have been killed and 553 injured in Ukraine since the start of the war.

More than 1.2 million people have also fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, the UN Refugee Agency said.

*Writing by Selcuk Bugra Gokalp