Ukrainian boxing champion Maksym Galinichev, who volunteered after the invasion of Russia, has died, authorities announced Friday. He was 22 years old.

Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, announced Galinichev’s death on Twitter, adding that Galinichev died while «defending Ukraine in [the] Lugansk region».

A detailed view of boxing gloves ringside during day one of the National Elite Boxing Championships at Echo Arena on April 29, 2016 in Liverpool, England. (Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

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“Maksym volunteered and returned to the front twice after being wounded and recovering,” Gerashchenko wrote in a tweet.

«Eternal memory for Hero».

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Tributes for Galinichev rained down on social media.

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According to the New York Post, he won a gold medal for Ukraine at the 2017 European Junior Championships and a silver medal at the Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2018.

He also reportedly skipped the European Boxing Championships last year to continue fighting the Russian invasion.

Ukrainians walk past the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters during a protest against the IOC's proposed roadmap to organize the return of Russian athletes to competition under a neutral flag, provided they have "did not actively support the war in Ukraine" in Lausanne on March 25, 2023.

Ukrainians walk past the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters during a protest against the IOC’s proposed roadmap to organize the return of Russian athletes to competition under a neutral flag, provided they «have not actively supported the war in Ukraine» in Lausanne on March 25, 2023. (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)

News of Galinichev’s death comes just as the International Olympic Committee faces backlash after its recommendation on Tuesday that athletes from Russia and Belarus should be allowed to return to competition under neutral status as long as they have no military ties.

Associated Press contributed to this report.