LONDON (AP) - The excitement is palpable for Andrii, a Ukrainian coal miner, as he recalls the moment he met heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk. The 36-year-old's eyes light up as he expresses his exhilaration in English, saying, "Wow!"

Andrii, along with over a dozen other Ukrainian war veterans, attended Usyk's fight against Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on a Saturday night. This match was significant as the two boxers vied for the title of undisputed world heavyweight champion, a rematch of their encounter in 2023, which Andrii had watched from the front lines via a mobile phone. "We were watching very quietly, but when he won, there was loud noise—we really celebrated," Andrii shared through an interpreter during a Friday visit to the Ukrainian Embassy in London. He requested that only his first name be used due to security concerns.

The veterans attending the fight are employees of DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, which has collaborated with Usyk to spotlight the challenges faced by the country's civilian energy infrastructure since the onset of the Russian invasion in February 2022.

Many of the veterans, including Andrii, had never traveled outside Ukraine until this moment. Their journey involved taking a train to Warsaw before flying to London, where they arrived on Thursday and proceeded straight to a downtown hotel to meet Usyk. "He told about his training sessions, how he prepared for the fight, but he also mentioned his journey from his childhood to becoming champion," Andrii noted. "He’s an ambassador of Ukraine and he supports energy workers. He can bring attention to the problem."

The conflict has severely impacted Ukraine’s energy sector, with Russia systematically targeting the country's power grid, resulting in extensive damages to facilities. At one point, 90% of DTEK's thermal generation capacity was either damaged or destroyed, and to date, over 300 DTEK employees have lost their lives in the war, with another 900 reported injured, primarily during combat operations.

Andrii himself lives approximately 70 kilometers (44 miles) from the front lines in eastern Ukraine, having served two years in combat. He described his injuries—a concussion and shrapnel wounds to his right leg from an exploding land mine—as "minor." Like many Ukrainians, he has also faced the grief of losing friends and family members to the ongoing hostilities.

The bright lights and modern surroundings of Wembley Stadium provide a stark contrast to the war-torn regions the veterans call home. Usyk, now 38 and a 2012 Olympic gold medalist from the London Games, has taken on an unofficial ambassadorial role for Ukraine, promoting his country’s message through his boxing career. "All of my fights are important for me and my team," Usyk stated before the fight. "Now it’s very important to my country and the soldiers who protect my country because it’s motivation for my people."

Earlier that week, Usyk also collaborated with billionaire Richard Branson to unveil a mosaic in Trafalgar Square aimed at raising funds for housing displaced Ukrainians. At the event, he remarked, "Russia destroyed hospitals, Russia destroyed schools, Russia destroyed lives—Ukrainian lives. But we will survive."

This event serves not only as a sporting spectacle but as a beacon of hope and resilience for the Ukrainian people, especially for those directly affected by the ongoing war.