Psychology seminars to help overcome trauma of the war in Ukraine is one of the main pillars of the #OlympiansForUkraine campaign set up by the World Olympians Association ©Getty Images

Psychology seminars to help overcome trauma of the war in Ukraine is one of the main aspects of the #OlympiansForUkraine campaign set up by the World Olympians Association (WOA).

Access to sport - a key value of the United Through Sports (UTS) World Youth Festival here - is another aspect that the initiative aimed to support Ukrainian Olympians focuses on.

WOA Asia development manager Jovina Choo spoke about the WOA's efforts to help Olympians in the war-torn nation during a presentation today.

Choo, who represented Singapore in sailing at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, said the campaign was launched "in response to a call for help from Ukrainian Olympians".

"The Ukrainian Olympians asked us to the bring together the worldwide Olympic community to help them like we did with the Ebola campaign, when we sent six containers of supplies to Liberia and Sierra Leone," Choo told insidethegames.  

"The money is being raised through the GoFundMe platform and the goal is to raise CHF100,000 (£90,224/$105,748/€102428) which equals the number of Olympians around the world."

So far, the campaign has managed to raise CHF9,781(£8,824/$10,343/€10,018).

The Ukrainian Olympians Association is organising a series of seminars to prepare the community to overcome the harsh mental impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The International Olympic Committee launched a solidarity fund in March to support Ukraine's Olympic community in response to the war, with more than $2.5 million (£2million/€2.4million) raised with the help of National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and International Federations.

Many sports facilities have been destroyed in Ukraine since the war began ©Getty Images
Many sports facilities have been destroyed in Ukraine since the war began ©Getty Images

The WOA campaign also focuses on humanitarian aid.

"The money raised is directly sent to Olympians and their families through the National Olympians Association (NOA) and the NOC," Choo continued.

"The money will also be used for rebuilding and increasing their access to sport.

"We are working closely with NOA and NOC."

With athletes defending their country and multiple sports facilities destroyed by Russian bombings, the WOA initiative could prove to be crucial in the rebuilding process after the war.

Some athletes such as Atanas Ivanov, a heavyweight weightlifter, have lost their lives defending Ukraine.

The weightlifting training centre in Chernihiv was one of the many sports facilities completely destroyed due to shelling.