Accommodation has been provided for 40 athletes in Banská Bystrica through World Athletics' Ukraine Fund and the IOC's Solidarity Fund, and the governing body has proved additional competition for three athletes and their families in the town from June 1 through to September 30.

World Athletics said its Fund is set to distribute $190,000 (£149,000/€172,000) this year to support Ukrainian athletes' preparations for the World Championships, while the IOC's Solidarity Fund has generated $7.5 million (£5.9 million/€6.8 million) since the start of the full scale invasion nearly 18 months ago.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe, an IOC member, this week launched a renewed defence of his organisation's decision to block the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes, claiming that "athletics will not be on the wrong side of history".

Its stance is contrary to the IOC's updated recommendations for International Federations to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes as individual neutrals provided they do not support the war in Ukraine and are not affiliated to the military.

The World Athletics Championships is scheduled for August 19 to 27 in Hungary's capital Budapest, and Coe underlined the importance of providing support to Ukraine's team.

"We understand how important and inspirational Ukraine’s athletes are to their country at this terrible time and we want to give them every opportunity to compete and excel, despite the great hardship being visited on them and their communities by this horrific war," he said.

"They have lost so much and the least we can do is help them to keep their athletics dreams alive.

"I am full of admiration for their fortitude and resilience and I am looking forward to welcoming the Ukrainian team to the National Athletics Centre in Budapest in the coming weeks."

Ukrainian Athletic Association secretary general Iolanta Khropach thanked World Athletics for its financial support.

"Your unwavering belief in us has made a profound impact on the life of our team and the opportunities to prepare for world-class competitions," she said.

"Thanks to your support, we have been able to provide the best athletes of the Ukrainian team with the necessary conditions on the final stage of the preparation to the World Athletics Championships in Budapest to achieve their sports goals.

"We are happy to see your willingness to lend a helping hand in difficult times for us during the war."

At last year's re-arranged World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Ukraine sent a team of 22 athletes, comprising of 18 women and four men.

Both of their medals came in the high jump, with Yaroslava Mahuchikh claiming a silver in the women's event and Andriy Protsenko a bronze in the men's.

Since making its debut as an independent country at the 1993 World Athletics Championships in Stuttgart, Ukraine has won a total of 41 medals, including 18 gold.

Its most successful athlete is pole vaulter Sergey Bubka, winner of three consecutive gold medals at Stuttgart in 1993, Gothenburg in 1995 and Athens in 1997, added to the three he won wearing the colours of the Soviet Union.

Bubka is now the senior vice-president of World Athletics, but has been largely quiet on the subject of Russia's invasion of his home country since it was launched by Vladimir Putin in February 2022.