Kiev: Ukraine has released a new postage stamp to support its Olympic athletes, sending its smallest ever national team to the Paris Games as the war with Russia drags on for almost 29 months.

Only 140 Ukrainian athletes will participate in the Olympic Games in Paris, the lowest number ever in the history of Ukrainian participation in the Games.

The Russian invasion killed athletes and coaches, forced many to flee the fighting, and damaged sports facilities. Regular air raid alerts and long power outages caused by Russian bombing disrupted training.

“We spent countless hours without electricity, without water, in darkness, in cold, in heat. I think we went through everything,” Vlada Kharkova, a fencer, told Reuters as she and other athletes gathered with officials to launch Ukraine’s Olympic stamp in central Kiev late on Friday.

“These circumstances have made us stronger and we are ready to show the whole world that, despite everything, we are Ukrainians and that as a Ukrainian nation we are unbreakable.”

A set of six stamps shows sports in which Ukraine has previously won prizes and medals, including fencing, judo, tennis, canoeing, weightlifting and shooting.

Data from the Ukrainian Ministry of Sports shows that 479 athletes and coaches have been killed since the Russian invasion began in February 2022. More than 500 sports facilities have been destroyed, including 15 Olympic training bases.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus be banned from international competitions. However, they have since been allowed to qualify for the Games in Paris as neutral participants.

A total of 25 athletes from Russia and Belarus have been cleared to compete in the Paris Olympics, which start on Friday.