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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Finland is deporting Ukrainian mixed martial arts fighter Volodymyr Holubiev to Ukraine over a drug offense for which he has already served a prison sentence. The athlete is convinced that immediately after returning he will be sent to the military-medical commission and mobilized into the army. The deportation process was supposed to be carried out on 24 September, but it is currently unknown whether the man was handed over to the Ukrainian side. Holubiev lived in Finland for 11 years, trained in boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, sambo, and competed in MMA under the ring name Vavansambo.
The situation of the fighter is reported by the Finnish media Ilta-Sanomat, which spoke with Holubiev. The most recent crime he is accused of was committed back in 2021, and in 2023 the court of appeal reduced his sentence to 4 years and 6 months of imprisonment. He served those years with a record of good behavior. Despite this, the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland ruled that the man should be deported to Ukraine. Holubiev tried to appeal the decision to the European Court of Human Rights, but they said they would not be able to review his case in time.
"I'm really gradually going crazy. I tried so hard. I paid all my debts and served my sentence to the end, behaving well. Where am I supposed to go? What will I do there? I should have thought then, I didn't have the brains. But now I do, and they want to send me away," MMA fighter Volodymyr Holubiev told reporters.
To journalists at Iltalehti, Holubiev also said that in Ukraine he will be immediately sent to the military-medical commission and mobilized.
"Those who can think understand that they will send me to service. For me this would not just be a move to another country. Along with that they would take my family, my loved ones, my job, my sport and the dreams for which I built my life for many years. My life is here. My people are here. My future is here," wrote athlete Volodymyr Holubiev on social media.
His lawyer reported the fighter's hospitalization
Holubiev's lawyer reported that on the evening of Wednesday, 23 September, he was in the hospital, writes the outlet Yle. The next day, 24 September, the man was to be flown to Poland, and from there to the Ukrainian border. Holubiev performed, among others, at Ice Cage events — Finnish commercial mixed martial arts shows.
The fighter's story comes amid a broader discussion about the return to Ukraine of men of conscription age who left the country. Earlier, Informator reported that the deportation of men to Ukraine is already taking place, and at the border they are met by representatives of the military enlistment offices who direct those liable for military service to the military-medical commission. According to People's Deputy Ruslan Horbenko, such cases are recorded after citizens of Ukraine violate the laws of the countries where they reside, and this happens without separate political decisions by the leadership of those states.
We also wrote about developments in the world of sport among Ukrainians: MP Zhan Beleniuk announced his next MMA fight and has already begun preparing for his second bout in the sport. The deputy and Olympic wrestling champion debuted in mixed martial arts with a victory over an Israeli opponent and afterward publicly challenged his colleague in the Verkhovna Rada, Mykola Tyshchenko, to a fight.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Фінляндія депортує українського бійця ММА через наркозлочин, за який він вже відсидів – мене одразу мобілізують". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Informator.
