Ukraine team spokesperson Nataliia Harach confirmed to USA Today Sports the father of Anastasiia Laletina, a soldier in the Ukrainian army, was taken prisoner by Russian soldiers.
Laletina, 19, was scheduled to compete in the biathlon middle distance sitting event on Tuesday, but withdrew from the Beijing Paralympics upon learning of the news.
“They beat him,” Harach said, but did not offer any insight about his condition or safety.
She also mentioned an assistant coach’s home in Kharkiv was recently bombed by Russian forces.
After initial concerns if Ukrainian Paralympians would even be able to make it to Beijing, the country has won nine of 8 medals handed out in Tuesday’s biathlon events.
Ukraine trails only the host nation of China in the overall medal count.
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