RUSSIA VS. UKRAINE!
Artem Priymenko had a bright future ahead of him in the martial arts. Having been described as one of the most promising young martial artists in Ukraine, Priymenko captured the country’s 16-and-under championship in sambo in 2021, then went on to qualify for the national team and the upcoming world cup competitions. With Ukraine being one of world’s foremost producers of sambo talent and with the sport recently gaining recognition from the International Olympic Committee, not to mention being a breeding ground for MMA champions, Priymenko’s future seemed limitless. But that’s all gone now.
The 16-year-old’s life was cut short by a Russian air attack. Priymenko — along with his parents, grandmother and two younger brothers — were reported killed in the city of Sumy when Russian bombs leveled their house. The attack left the Priymenko family among the more than 1,800 civilians who, at press time, have been reported killed since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Although the martial arts play a very minor role in the physical and ideological warfare being waged between Russia and its foes, it’s still worth examining what the martial arts world is — and isn’t — doing in the middle
