In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed documents to illegally annex the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson following disputed referendums.

However, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to condemn Russia's claims to the territories, following severe criticism by Western nations.

Sport in the industrial region of Donetsk was severely impacted by the War in Donbas between Ukraine and Russia which dates back to April 2014, preceding the full-scale invasion earlier this year.

This is epitomised by the Donbass Arena, home of one of Ukraine's most successful football clubs in Shakhtar Donetsk, being damaged by shelling and unused since May 2014, less than two years after it held matches at the 2012 UEFA European Championship.

Chernyshenko, the former President of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee who was stripped of the Olympic and Paralympic Order earlier this year, spoke at a briefing on the results of "We are together. Sport", providing details on the development of sport in the annexed regions.

"About 1,400 athletes and 214 coaches train in 28 regions," Chernyshenko said, according to Russia's official state news agency TASS.

"They participated in competitions, they are assigned categories.

"More than 50 talented children were enrolled in the football academy in Yevpatoria [a city in Crimea, the peninsula occupied by Russia since 2014 but considered part of Ukraine by most countries].

"A special law on the development of physical culture and sports is being prepared for release, which will determine the conditions for holding competitions in new territories, accreditation of federations in the territories, assignment of titles."

At the same briefing, TASS reported that Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin claimed that 11 sports facilities had been restored in Donetsk and work was ongoing at a further 20, with two new facilities constructed.

The deputy Minister of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Tourism of the disputed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Nikolai Tarapata told the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports that "about 2,000 athletes and coaches have already been evacuated outside the DPR to undergo training camps" and "our athletes are ready to take part in all-Russian competitions".

The war in Ukraine has had a wide-ranging impact on sport, with facilities across the country damaged and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommending that Russian and Belarusian athletes were excluded from international competitions since the invasion started.

IOC President Thomas Bach has vowed that "we are committed to a strong team of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine at the Olympic Games Paris 2024", but the organisation has entertained a proposal at the Olympic Summit to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals at Olympic Council of Asia qualifying events.