Artist behind banned Ukrainian Olympic helmet calls Heraskevych's tribute 'great heroism'

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The artist who painted a controversial helmet that got Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych banned from the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics said his refusal to stop wearing the helmet was “a great act of heroism.”

Artist Iryna Prots meticulously painted upon Heraskevych's helmet portraits of over 20 Ukrainian athletes and coaches killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. The helmet drew international attention after the IOC said it violated rules banning political messages. Heraskevych's insistence on wearing it anyway got him barred.

“He could have refused, he could have said, ‘Fine, I’ll wear another helmet and fight for a medal,’" Prots, 52, told The Associated Press inside her home in Kyiv. "He didn’t do that. To stand up for his truth — that is great heroism.”

Heraskevych came up with the idea for the helmet design and his father, a longtime friend of Prots, asked her to paint it.

“It had to be done, and it had to be finished in time,” Prots said. “These were athletes who could have been standing there at the Olympics, but they are no longer here.”

The project marked a sharp departure from Prots' usual work: Tuscan landscapes that are regularly exhibited in a small gallery in the Italian town of Montepulciano.

She travels to Italy several times a year and said those visits shaped her belief that many Europeans remain poorly informed about the realities of the war in Ukraine.

“I understand that when a war is somewhere far away, people get used to it,” she said. “They have their own lives. But we are fighting every day. Fighting to survive.”

Working from photographs of the fallen athletes and coaches, Prots said the emotional weight of the task was immediate.

“This is pain — pain for our country,” she said. “For the fact that we lost Olympic champions, essentially, and coaches who were raising this generation of Olympic champions.”

Prots said she believes the stories of the athletes depicted on the helmet deserve to be known globally, especially as international sporting events continue with the war still ongoing.

“The Olympics are supposed to symbolize peace," she said. “But today it’s hard for me to understand how there is celebration, anthems, dancing and singing, while we live under air raid sirens and bombs.”

Despite constant Russian air attacks on Ukraine's capital, Prots said she will continue to paint.

AP journalist Dmytro Zhyhinas contributed to this report.

Ukrainian artist Iryna Prots shows a photo of the helmet of Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych painted with over 20 portraits of Ukrainian athletes and coaches who were killed in Russia-Ukraine war in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych holds up his crash helmet during a press conference following a skeleton training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Steve Moore)

Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych left, holds his crash helmet at the mixed zone of the sliding center at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych holds his crash helmet as he stands in the mixed zone of the sliding center at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Ukrainian artist Iryna Prots shows a photo of 20-year old athlete Dariya Curdel who was killed in a Russian air attack — one of over 20 other Ukrainian athlete and coaches whose portraits were painted on the helmet of Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.

The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday," the airport's official X account wrote.

A spokesperson for the airport said the pedestrian, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died. They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.

“We're stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”

The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway.”

The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now" before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”

Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.

“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”

Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.

Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted. It is expected to open later today.

The pedestrian death came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport. In a statement, the airline said the employee was killed Thursday night without providing details of the incident nor the name of the employee.

“We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,” the airline said. "We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”

FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International airport on Nov. 25, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)