The Altair ice hockey arena, in the town of Druzhkivka in Ukraine's Donetsk region, was shattered by Russian missiles earlier today.

Kuleba took to Twitter to highlight the "politically neutral" shelling that damaged the sports facility.

"I invite all sports officials who want to allow Russian athletes to compete in international events because, as they say, 'politics should be kept out of sports', to visit the Altair ice arena in Druzhkivka ruined by Russia's 'politically neutral' shelling," he wrote on the social media platform.

Bach has encouraged a proposal at the Olympic Summit to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals at Olympic Council of Asia qualifying events last December, which drew criticism from Ukraine, including the country's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The German official also recently referred to a comment by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, and his assertion that "athletes from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine should be treated equally."

The venue was used by the Donbass ice hockey club since 2014, the year pro-Russia separatists proclaimed the creation of the Donetsk People's Republic.

The Ukrainian Ice Hockey Federation confirmed the missile attack on the venue via its Telegram channel.

"So it is that since the start of the war, the Russian occupiers have destroyed five ice stadiums," a statement read.

The Ukrainian Ice Hockey Federation added that the other venues destroyed by the war are the Druzhba venue in Donetsk, arenas in Mariupol and Melitopol and the Ice Palace in Sievierodonetsk.

In March last year, a weightlifting training centre at a stadium in Chernihiv was destroyed by shelling.

HC Donbass also said that the arena was "destroyed" by the "rocket strikes" on their official Instagram account.

"This is the third home that the Donetsk club has lost due to Russian occupiers - the Palace of Sports Friendship in Donetsk, Mariupol Ice Center, and now Altair," HC Donbass said.  

Donbass general manager Fedor Ilyenko said on Facebook that the venue hosted the biggest hockey and figure skating school in Ukraine and that it was "more than just a building".

"It's hundreds of children's competitions, dozens of international tournaments, children's smiles…" he said.

"It's people who have created joy all eight years since the start of the war."

The International Ice Hockey Federation ignored a request from insidethegames for a comment.