THIS week I spoke to three people, separated by thousands of miles, destined never to meet, who are helping to fight against Vladimir Putin through the power of sport.

This morning, Andriy, my new friend from Ukraine, cursed Vladimir Putin. Explicitly, furiously and articulately.

We had been exchanging messages for 48 hours after our love of sport brought us together. Prior to signing off he told me he was expecting refugees from Kharkiv to arrive at his home. “This war is awful. We will fight for Ukraine and freedom with our last breath. But you must also tell the world we need help.”

With draconian laws passed in Russia that will see people jailed for 15 years for spreading “fake news” about the war in Ukraine, it is vital that the truth about the appalling invasion is shared with ordinary Russians in a bid to influence public opinion under Putin. 

Kris runs a pub in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. He has been busy raising money to send to Ukraine. He told me that during breaks and after last orders at his bar, he Googles Russian restaurants and sports teams, and in the section left for reviews on their sites, or in the place to post sporting opinion, he tells the truth to ordinary Russians about what exactly is happening in Ukraine.

“We identify a Russian football team, or hockey team or basketball team big and small, and on their website or pages, we post a comment,” Kris told me.

“However instead of the comment being about the sport, we write the truth about what is happening in Ukraine. Or we post a picture or image of the bombing and shelled out buildings.

“We only want to share the truth that their media is suppressing,” Kris told me. And while Google is attempting to disable such ingenious acts, his solidarity with Ukraine is inspiring. 

Tom Ansell is a boxer. I plan to cover his title eliminator at the York Hall, the spiritual home of English boxing in London’s East End on Saturday evening. 

I’ve charted Tom’s rise to within sight of a belt, via visits to watch his training in North London and Hertfordshire gyms, as well as covering previous raucous nights in Bethnal Green and elsewhere. 

While he fights like a caged tiger inside the ring, he is a thoughtful man away from business. He got in touch to tell me how much he admired the will of the Ukrainian people, and as a professional boxer, the “exemplary courage” of the Klitschko brothers, two teak-tough former prizefighters from the region.

In their sporting prime, Vitali Klitschko and his brother Wladimir created a boxing dynasty as heavyweight world champions. So heralded are they that Vitali is now Mayor of Kiev. 

To be precise, Vitali is now a heavily armed mayor, complete with automatic weapons around his still-chiselled torso, ready to defend his homeland alongside his brother and so many others. And if Tom wins on Saturday he will be dedicating his victory to Ukraine and the bravery of the Klitschko brothers.

“The courage, unselfishness and incredibly strong mentality that the Klitschko brothers have shown is absolutely commendable,” Tom told me this week.

Sport is not a matter of life and death. Far from it. But it must do all it can to help minimise the loss of life in Ukraine.