World champion Ukrainian kickboxer Maksym Kagal 'is killed in combat while fighting alongside soldiers in Mariupol'
- Maksym Kagal, 30, was battling against Russian forces in Mariupol when he died
- Coach Oleg Skirta said he was fighting as part of Ukraine's Azov Battalion unit
- Kagal, from Kremenchug, won the World Kickboxing Championship ISKA in 2014
A Ukrainian kickboxing world champion has been killed in combat whilst fighting alongside soldiers in the besieged city of Mariupol, his coach said.
Maksym Kagal, 30, was battling against invading Russian forces as part of Ukraine's Azov Battalion unit in Mariupol on Friday when he was killed, his coach Oleg Skirta said.
'Unfortunately, the war takes the best. On 25 March, while defending the city of Mariupol as part of the Azov Separate Special Forces Unit, Maksym Kagal died,' Mr Skirta said in a statement on Facebook.
Maksym Kagal, 30, was battling against invading Russian forces as part of Ukraine's Azov Battalion unit in Mariupol on Friday when he was killed, his coach Oleg Skirta said
Kagal, from the Ukrainian city of Kremenchug, had won the World Kickboxing Championship ISKA in 2014
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Mr Skirta described Kagal as 'the first world kickboxing champion from the glorious city of Kremenchug, the first world champion among adults in the team of Ukraine, and just an honest and decent person.'
Kagal, from the Ukrainian city of Kremenchug, had won the World Kickboxing Championship ISKA in 2014.
The kickboxer, like hundreds of other Ukrainian civilians, had decided to take up arms and defend Ukraine from the invading Russian forces when he was killed in Mariupol.
Mariupol has seen the brunt of the Russian firepower, with the city being 'turned to dust' as a result.
British defence intelligence analysts said on Monday that Russia has gained most ground in southern Ukraine, in the vicinity of Mariupol where heavy fighting continued as Mr Putin's forces attempts to capture the strategically important port.
But the Ministry of Defence said logistical shortages, a lack of momentum and low morale were hitting the Russian invaders, combined with 'aggressive fighting by the Ukrainians'.
Local mayor Vadym Boichenko said the situation is so dire in Mariupol, where about 160,000 civilians are trapped without heat or power, that the port city must be completely evacuated.
Boichenko said 26 buses were waiting to evacuate civilians - who have faced constant bombardment from Russian forces for days - but Vladimir Putin's men had not agreed to give them safe passage.
The 160,000 civilians trapped in the city are encircled by Russian forces, with ever-dwindling supplies of food, water and medicine.
A view of destroyed buildings and vehicles after shelling in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Sunday
Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Russian troops are 'turning the city into dust', describing the situation in Mariupol as 'catastrophic' with people fighting to survive.
Mayor Boichenko said: 'The situation in the city remains difficult. People are beyond the line of humanitarian catastrophe. We need to completely evacuate Mariupol.'
Speaking about Russian troops not agreeing to allow the civilians safe passage from Mariupol, the mayor said: The Russian Federation is playing with us.
'We are in the hands of the invaders.'
Russia said last week it had evacuated several hundred thousand people from the war zone, but Ukraine said up to 15,000 civilians were forcibly deported from the Left Bank area of Mariupol to Russia.
Mariupol is widely seen as a strategic prize for the Russian invaders to create a bridge between Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, and two separatist enclaves in eastern Ukraine.
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