Many Ukrainians had been up within the early hours of Sunday morning, for as soon as to not search shelter from incoming Russian missiles, however to have fun the Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk changing into the world’s undisputed heavyweight champion.
Mr. Usyk’s victory over the British boxer Tyson Fury was a uncommon piece of excellent information for an embattled nation that’s struggling to comprise Russian advances, significantly within the northeast, the place Moscow has opened a brand new entrance.
President Volodymyr Zelensky lauded the victory as an emblem of Ukraine’s resilience.
“Ukrainians hit hard!” Mr. Zelensky wrote in a Telegram post round 3 a.m. that included {a photograph} of Mr. Usyk delivering a punch to Mr. Fury. “And in the end, all our opponents will be overcome.”
Ukrainian troops are at present engaged in fierce combating to halt Russia’s grinding advance all alongside the entrance line, and there are fears that some key positions could quickly fall. Russian troops lately superior farther into Robotyne, a village within the south that was one of many uncommon successes of Ukraine’s failed counteroffensive final summer season.
Faced with such grim prospects, many Ukrainians watched the match hoping {that a} win would carry their spirits.
“This victory is very good for raising our morale,” Valentyna Polishchuk, 54, stated on Sunday in Kyiv, the capital. “Things are not good in our country, and this is at least something good.”
Maj. Ilya Yevlash, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, stated that “without a doubt,” Mr. Usyk’s victory “had an impact on the morale of all Ukrainians, and we now desperately need such victories!”
Many Ukrainian public figures, together with former President Petro O. Poroshenko and the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, himself a former heavyweight world champion, joined within the celebrations, portraying the victory as proof that Ukraine was able to defeating a powerful opponent.
On Sunday, one other Ukrainian boxer, Denys Berinchyk, gained a light-weight world title, including to the festive temper.
“We have to do everything possible to make sure that our next victory is our great victory,” Mr. Poroshenko wrote on Facebook.
With his victory on Sunday, Mr. Usyk grew to become the primary undisputed heavyweight champion for almost a quarter-century. He emerged triumphant after battling his approach by a grueling 12-round battle towards Mr. Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The parallels with Ukraine’s exhausting struggle towards Russia weren’t misplaced on Ukrainians. “Here, every blow can change the course of the battle,” Major Yevlash stated.
Several Ukrainians on Sunday stated they hoped that Mr. Usyk’s victory would present the world that Ukraine was nonetheless able to profitable.
“I am very proud that Oleksandr has won this award. It is very important,” stated Fedir Ilarionov, of Kyiv. He was standing on St. Michael’s Square, within the middle of the capital, the place Ukrainian authorities have exhibited Russian armored autos destroyed and captured on the battlefield.
Pavlo Velychko, a Ukrainian lieutenant who defends Ukraine’s northeastern border, struck a extra reasonable tone.
“It’s great, positive news for Ukraine,” he stated in a phone interview. “But our most important victories happen every day on the battlefield. That is where the attention of the Ukrainian nation and the world should be focused.”
