Bidnyak reportedly died on April 20, after being shot in the Kherson region of Ukraine.

The 36-year-old had represented Ukraine at international level for several years, including competing at the World and European Championships.

He earned Ukraine's first shooting quota place for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Bidnyak was also a member of the bronze medal winning pistol team at the European Championships in 2013, while he was a medallist at junior level.

"He comes from the Dnipropetrovsk region, and when a wide-scale attack began he returned from work in Europe and joined the ranks of the armed forces," Bidnyak’s friend Alex Zhdanov wrote on social media.

"I wanted to help him as much as I could, bought the ammunition he needed in Poland, the parcel came to his unit, but unfortunately he did not manage to get it.

"He was killed by an enemy bullet while doing combat duties."

Bidnyak was married and had a six-year-old son.

Kihitov, a member of the Ukrainian junior shooting team, was killed during shelling in the city of Popasna.

A funeral was held for the 21-year-old last month.

His twin brother Hlib, who is also a shooter, was present at the funeral.

"Ehor Kihitov, a member of the national team in shot put, gave his life for the motherland," the Ukrainian Shooting Federation said.

"Ehor joined the ranks of defenders from the first days of the war, which was insidiously started by Russia.

"He came under fire and was burned and hospitalised.

"He recovered quickly, but refused to undergo full rehabilitation and returned to the front."

British Shooting are among the organisations to have paid tribute to the two Ukrainian athletes.

"British Shooting sends deepest condolences to the families and friends of Ukrainian target shooters Ehor Kihitov and Ivan Bidnyak, who have been tragically killed in the conflict in Ukraine," the organisation said.

"Rest in peace."