'Olympics look surreal': Ukrainian artist behind war dead helmet

VIDEO SHOWS: UKRAINIAN ARTIST IRYNA PROTS SHOWING PHOTOS OF FALLEN ATHLETES / PROTS PAINTING AND COMMENTING / PEOPLE SNOWBOARDING AND SKIING IN KYIV / PEOPLE COMMENTING ON SITUATION EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: FOR ADDITIONAL FOOTAGE OF UKRAINIAN ATHLETE VLADYSLAV HERASKEVYCH WITH HELMET AND HIS HELMET SEE EDIT 4216  RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: KYIV, UKRAINE (FEBRUARY 11, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all) 1. 52-YEAR-OLD UKRAINIAN ARTIST, IRYNA PROTS, HOLDING PHONE AND SHOWING PHOTOGRAPHS OF FALLEN ATHLETES  2. PROTS HOLDING PHONE AND LOOKING AT PHOTOGRAPHS OF FALLEN ATHLETES 3. PHOTOGRAPH OF FALLEN ATHLETES ON PHONE SCREEN 4. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 52-YEAR-OLD UKRAINIAN ARTIST, IRYNA PROTS, SAYING:     "Every portrait, every pair of eyes that could have looked at this world, that could have fought for their medals, that could have stood on their pedestals, but they are gone. And the most painful thing is that these were little children whose lives had only just begun." 5. PHOTOGRAPHS OF FALLEN ATHLETES ON PHONE SCREEN 6. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 52-YEAR-OLD UKRAINIAN ARTIST, IRYNA PROTS, SAYING:     "That is why I definitely took on this work, to remind the world that we had athletes who could have been standing on the podium there today. Perhaps they could even have won medals, but they are no longer with us." 7. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 52-YEAR-OLD UKRAINIAN ARTIST, IRYNA PROTS, SAYING:       "In Ukraine, we have more than a hundred athletes who have been killed by the Russian war, by Russian bullets. I think that we still need to remind the world about this. The world is becoming more apathetic every day." 8. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 52-YEAR-OLD UKRAINIAN ARTIST, IRYNA PROTS, SAYING:        "And in general, the Olympics seems surreal to me, to be honest. The Olympics have always been about peace, calm and quiet, when the whole world united, when the fighting stopped and the strongest competed for medals. But today, when they sing the anthem and celebrate there, while we have sirens and our people every day… When they fight for medals there, but we fight for our lives every day here." 9. RELIGIOUS OBJECT ON TABLE  10. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 52-YEAR-OLD UKRAINIAN ARTIST, IRYNA PROTS, SAYING:      "They don't want to see the truth. Quite simply, the whole world doesn't want to see the truth of what is happening here. Every time I travel abroad, I encounter this. And I talk to ordinary people, educated people. They don't want to see what is happening here. They cannot understand why we have not capitulated, why we do not surrender."  11. BLURRY PLANTS NEAR WINDOW IN FOREGROUND, RESIDENTIAL AREA COVERED IN SNOW 12. VARIOUS OF PROTS DRAWING ON CANVAS 13. PROTS PICKING UP TUBES OF PAINT 14. PROTS ORGANISING TUBES OF PAINT 15. VARIOUS OF PROTS PUTTING UP PREVIOUSLY-MADE ARTWORK 16. PEOPLE AND CHILDREN WALKING UP HILL, PEOPLE SKIING DOWN 17. FIRST PERSON VIEW OF SKIING DOWN 18. FIRST PERSON VIEW OF SKIING DOWN HILL, PEOPLE WAVING 19. PEOPLE WALKING UP HILL, PEOPLE SKIING DOWN IN BACKGROUND 20. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 52-YEAR-OLD ENTREPRENEUR, NATALIIA TOLOKNOVA, ON SKELETON OLYMPIAN VLADYSLAV HERASKEVYCH, SAYING:       "I was simply struck by his stance. He is such a strong person, and I am sure that if the IOC does not meet him halfway, he will indeed not compete, which is unfortunate, but I fully support him because it is very important for the world to understand and remember what is happening here." 21. MAN AND CHILD SKIING DOWN HILL, HOLDING HANDS 22. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 32-YEAR-OLD ENTREPRENEUR, VOLODYMYR KORNIIENKO, SAYING:      "Russia has long been known as a terrorist country, and these people died because of this aggression, so there is no need to keep quiet about it, and it is very right that it is being covered and talked about." 23. WOMAN WITH SKIS STUCK IN PLACE 24. WOMAN WITH SKIS SLIDING BACKWARDS 25.(SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 37-YEAR-OLD ENTREPRENEUR, SVITLANA SHEVCHENKO, SAYING:      "Competing in other countries, showing that we are alive and that we want to live, is absolutely right. We are in a very difficult situation right now, but still, we want to live, we want to achieve great heights, and we want everyone to know about it, so I would be happy if our athletes are allowed to compete." 26. PEOPLE WITH SKIS STANDING IN LINE 27. PEOPLE RELAXING IN PLACE 28. SKIS LAYING ON SNOW, PEOPLE SKIING IN BACKGROUND 29. DESTROYED VEHICLES ON DISPLAY  30. UKRAINIAN FLAG WAVING ON DESTROYED VEHICLE ON DISPLAY 31. DRONE REMAINS, COVERED IN SNOW, FIXATED IN AIR ON DISPLAY STORY:      Ukrainian artist Iryna Prots watches the Winter Olympics in the rare moments she has power at home, but the creator of skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych's banned helmet depicting Ukraine's war dead feels especially far away from the games.     "Honestly, the entire Olympics somehow seem surreal to me," said the 52-year-old inside her apartment in Kyiv, where Russian air strikes have battered the energy grid and plunged residents into cold and darkness.     "Because the Olympics were always about peace…when the entire world united."     The helmet by Prots – featuring portraits of two-dozen Ukrainian athletes killed in Russia's war – is at the centre of a standoff between Heraskevych and the International Olympic Committee, which pleaded on Wednesday with him to compete without his helmet.     The IOC banned the piece of equipment on Tuesday from any competitions, saying it violated rules on political statements at the Games, drawing widespread anger from Ukrainians.     Heraskevych, 27, has refused to comply, setting up a potential disqualification for the Kyiv native, whose friends are among the dead. Asked by Reuters on Wednesday if it was his helmet or nothing, he said: "Yes."     Prots said Heraskevych, whom she has known since he was a child, had asked her to design his helmet – something she described as "a challenge" aimed at confronting the world with the reality of war.      Russia's invasion is grinding into its fifth year, having killed tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops and civilians, ravaged wide swaths of land and left countless psychological scars.     "The world simply doesn't want to see the truth that is happening here," said Prots, who travels frequently to Italy where she sells her paintings at a small gallery.     "They don't understand why we haven't capitulated, why we aren't surrendering."      Ukraine, struggling to hold back Russian advances on the battlefield as drones and missiles rain down on its cities, is under U.S. pressure to quickly secure a peace deal.     Prots, whose birthday falls on the day Moscow launched its invasion, describes each athlete depicted on Heraskevych's helmet as a lost asset for the war-torn country.      "Each pair of eyes…could be seeing this world right now, that could be fighting for their own medals, who could be standing on their own pedastals," she said.     Heraskevych has received an outpouring of support from Ukrainians including President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Moscow, whose athletes were largely barred from the Olympics but may gradually return, say sport should remain separate from international conflicts.     "He simply impressed me with his position – such a strong person," said businesswoman Natalia Toloknova, 52, on a break from skiing at a popular hill outside central Kyiv.      Fellow skiier Svitlana Shevchenko, 37, described Heraskevych as a symbol for how Ukrainians strive for normality in the midst of suffering.     "We want to live, we want to reach new heights, and we want everyone to know about this."     (Production: Anna Voitenko, Yurii Kovalenko, Sergiy Karazy, Taras Garanich, Daria Smetanko)

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