Ukraine

Ukrainian Olympic gymnast Ruslan Mezentsev is auctioning one of his most precious belongings -- his silver medal -- and donating all the money to his home country ... so they have money to fund the fight against Russia.

Mezentsev competed in the men's artistic all-around competition in Sydney in 2000 ... personally taking part in the floor exercise, pommel horse, and still rings.

Ruslan scored a total of 28.725 ... bringing the team's total to 230.306, good enough for a silver medal. The Ukrainians finished just 1.613 points behind China ... who won the gold.

Now, that silver medal is on the auction block at RR Auction ... where it already has 8 bids. The current price is $3,000 ... but expect that to rise!

Mezentsev -- who's now 41 years old -- is from a town called Kropyvnytskyi in central Ukraine.

RR says not only will all of the money from the sale be donated to the war funds ... but even the buyer's premium (the money that typically goes to the auction).

Several members of Brittney Griner's Russian basketball team came to her aid at her trial in Moscow on Thursday ... praising her character and leadership skills in testimonies inside of the courtroom.

One week after pleading guilty to drug charges in the foreign country, Griner's trial pressed onward -- and during the proceedings, players and officials from UMMC Ekaterinburg, Griner's former basketball team in Russia, testified in support of the WNBA star.

Team captain Evgeniya Belyakova, according to NPR, told the court Griner was "the heart of our team." She added that fans in Russia "adored" the 31-year-old center.

One of Griner's attorneys added following the hearing that the director of UMMC Ekaterinburg, Maxim Ryabkov, also "gave a positive description of Brittney Griner during his speech in court, noting her outstanding abilities as a player and personal contribution to strengthening the team spirit, which allowed the team to achieve the highest results in the Russian basketball premier league and in international competitions for many years."

Griner showed up at the courtroom in a dark-colored t-shirt and glasses. She did not give a testimony during the proceedings. Her trial is expected to continue on Friday morning.

As we reported, Griner is facing up to 10 years behind bars after she pled guilty to charges that she had hashish oil in her luggage at a Moscow airport back in February.

LeBron James says Brittney Griner's been in captivity for way too long without the U.S. bringing her home, so if he were the WNBA star, he'd question returning to America.

Bron made the comments during a recent taping of "The Shop" ... when the conversation apparently turned to the incarcerated American hoops star.

"Now, how can she feel like America has her back? I would be feeling like, 'Do I even want to go back to America?'"

It's clear -- at least from the short trailer that was released -- that LeBron doesn't believe the U.S. is doing nearly enough to bring BG home.

Of course, Griner was arrested in a Russian airport near Moscow in mid-February ... after Russian authorities said they found vape cartridges with cannabis oil in her bag.

Initially, the American public wasn't made aware Griner was arrested ... which was strategic on the part of America. With the Russia-Ukraine war waging, the U.S. knew Griner could be used by Russia to gain leverage against the West.

But, that strategy only worked for a couple of weeks. Eventually, the news got out, and it's been one of the biggest stories since.

Griner's case has consistently been covered in America, and across the world.

Brittney's wife, Cherelle Griner, recently spoke with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

(Note: in fairness to LBJ's point, "The Shop" episode seems to have been filmed before Cherelle spoke to the president.)

Biden also wrote a letter to Brittney ... which she recently received.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has regularly fielded questions from reporters at the WH about all topics Griner-related.

The United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has also been in communication with the Griner family. U.S. Congressman Colin Allred, a former athlete at Baylor (like Brittney), has also spent countless hours working to free Griner.

Politicians aside, everyone from fellow athletes to regular people have been touched by the Griner case ... and have prayed for her safe return.

In fact, supporters of other prisoners locked up abroad, particularly in Russia, have been peeved by how hard the U.S. government has seemingly tried to get BG back, while other families believe the same level of effort isn't being paid to the cases of their loved ones.

As for her release ... unfortunately, nothing looks imminent.

After months of sitting in a Russian cell, Griner recently appeared before a judge and indicated her desire to plead guilty to the drug charge.

Griner has not yet been sentenced. She could face 10 years in prison.

Full "The Shop" ep. drops Friday on HBO.

Famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump is imploring more NBA players to speak out about Brittney Griner ... clearly believing their voices could help bring the WNBA star back to the States.

The lawyer spoke with TMZ Sports out in D.C. earlier this week ... and he made it clear, if some of the Association's biggest names -- as well as others in the NFL, NHL, MLB and more -- keep raising awareness for Griner, it could help her in her drug case in Russia.

"I think the NBA players should be saying more," the 52-year-old said. "I think that the sports world should be saying more."

As we reported, BG is now facing 10 years behind bars after she pled guilty to drug charges in a Russian courtroom on Thursday.

Griner's legal team said they're hopeful that by taking responsibility for her actions, authorities would go easy on her when it came to sentencing.

Crump obviously isn't feeling super optimistic that will happen ... telling us he believes regardless of what goes down in the case, "She's being used as a political pawn."

He's now urging anyone with a platform to come forward, believing a large, public outrage could hopefully lead to a speedy return for the basketball star.

"It would be a travesty of justice for her not to come home soon," he said.

The amount of support for "Outer Banks" stand-in Alexander "AJ" Jennings has been massive since his untimely death ... but his family says the best way to honor him would be to donate some cash to a charity.

LuJean Jennings, Alex's mother, tells TMZ ... they've been offered help for funeral costs from "Outer Banks" cast and crew members, but she thinks a donation to the Red Cross would make more sense, given the deep ties he has with the org -- and it's not just his CPR and lifeguard certification.

Alex, who stood in for Chase Stokes on the Netflix series, was born in Russia and was adopted from an orphanage when he was 18 months old. He was proud of his heritage ... up until Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- something he found extremely upsetting.

Being a 22-year-old actor, Alex didn't always have the means to make financial contributions of his own, but his family would often send money to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The fund assists people leaving Ukraine with shelter, basic aid items and medical supplies.

Alex's family is asking those wanting to show support for the late actor to help the refugees by chipping in to the IFRC instead.

As we reported, Alex was struck and killed by two vehicles early Tuesday morning in Charleston, both of which fled the scene. According to preliminary reports, he was walking along the main thoroughfare between James Island and Folly Beach when he was hit.

Brittney Griner is back in court in Russia as her trial continues onward ... but this time, she made sure to bring a very personal item with her -- a photo of her wife.

Cameras captured the WNBA superstar walking into a Moscow courtroom for another hearing in her drug case on Thursday morning ... and you can see in her hand, very clearly, was a photo of Cherelle Griner.

The picture appears to be a screen grab from one of Cherelle's recent television interviews ... and next to it, there was also a photo of Brittney holding a basketball.

Brittney seemed to want to make sure cameras snapped her holding the pics ... as she held out the paper and stared at photogs camped inside the halls of the courthouse on her way inside.

The 33-year-old hooper wore a red Crenshaw T-shirt, red sweats ... and had a stern look on her face.

The loud-and-clear message from Brittney comes just one day after both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with Cherelle about Brittney's case.

White House officials said Biden and Harris assured Cherelle on the call they're pursuing "every avenue to bring Brittney home" and promised that they're "working to secure Brittney’s release as soon as possible."

Cherelle said in a statement shortly after the call she was "grateful" for the U.S. officials' contact ... but added at a rally for Brittney at the Footprint Center in Phoenix hours later that she "honestly can't rest until" Brittney is back on U.S. soil.

As we reported, Brittney is facing up to 10 years behind bars in Russia after she was accused of having drugs in her luggage at a Moscow airport back in mid-February.

Megan Rapinoe's in Washington D.C. to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but while the soccer star's physically at the White House, it's clear her thoughts are very much with Brittney Griner in Russia.

Just hours after the Phoenix Mercury star pled guilty in a Moscow court, the Olympic gold medalist shared a photo of her outfit for Thursday's ceremony at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave ... and it features the WNBA star's initials stitched into the suit.

In addition to the "BG" ... there's also a flower stitched onto the lapel of the pearl-colored blazer.

"The most important part of today," the 37-year-old said.

Rapinoe is on her way to the White House where she'll be presented with the medal ... the highest honor a civilian can receive from the government.

President Biden -- who recently spoke with Griner's wife, Cherelle, about Brittney's imprisonment -- will present the medal to Rapinoe.

"The President called Cherelle," the White House said on Wednesday, "to reassure her that he is working to secure Brittney’s release as soon as possible."

Former Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone just gave an eyebrow-raising endorsement of Vladimir Putin ... calling the Russian president a "first-class person" and claiming he'd "take a bullet" for him.

The controversial comments came during Ecclestone's appearance on Good Morning Britain ... when the billionaire was asked if he still supports his friend amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"I'd still take a bullet for him," 91-year-old Ecclestone said Thursday. "I'd rather it didn’t hurt, but if it does I'd still take a bullet, because he’s a first-class person. What he’s doing is something that he believed was the right thing he was doing for Russia."

Pretty interesting take, considering many want to see Putin dead.

Ecclestone also went after Volodymyr Zelensky ... claiming the Ukrainian president should have done more on his end to prevent the war.

"The other person in Ukraine," Ecclestone added. "His profession, I understand, he used to be a comedian. And I think he seems as if he wants to continue that profession."

"I think if he'd have thought about things, he would have definitely made the big enough effort to speak to Mr. Putin, who is a sensible person and would have listened to him and could have probably done something about it."

F1 distanced itself from his comments shortly after the interview ... saying, "The comments made by Bernie Ecclestone are his personal views and are in very stark contrast to the position of the modern values of our sport."

A brand new summer camp in Ukraine is going strong even though the war rages on ... and it's all about giving the kids something to look forward to in uncertain times.

Co-founders Yulia Grechka and Oxana Volzhina joined us on "TMZ Live" to talk about their summer program, the 7Fields Eco Camp -- located in a safe part of the region of Kyiv.

The mental toll put on the children of Ukraine has been overwhelming ever since Russia began invading their borders -- Yulia and Oxana knew something had to be done.

Their camp aims to provide 300 refugee kids with fun activities and psychological aid at no cost to the families before the summer's over. They've been working educational programs into the camp's activities, too -- the older children will be able to attend anti-corruption lectures.

Since the camp is free, the team is looking to get donations for the program ... those chipping in will get a letter sent to them, with info about the child they helped give a memorable summer to.

The terror of Vladimir Putin firing missiles on innocent civilians is on vivid display in these new videos showing the shopping mall Russia just destroyed.

Monday's missile strike in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk destroyed the mall, sending fireballs into the sky and unleashing a shockwave on a nearby park. In the video, you can see citizens strolling peacefully when suddenly they have to run for their lives.

Some people took cover behind trees, while others jumped into a pond seeking cover from shrapnel and rocks that were sent flying. A massive piece of concrete from a building landed in the park, but luckily it didn't hit anyone.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said there were more than 1,000 people in the mall at the time of the strike -- and the latest death toll stands at 18, with nearly 60 injured and another 36 people still missing.

As rescuers continue digging through the rubble, President Zelensky is labeling the missile strike "one of the most defiant terrorist attacks in European history."

Vladimir Putin is showing no mercy ... disgustingly firing missiles into a Ukraine shopping mall, and video following the attack shows the building -- with nearly 1,000 civilians inside -- up in flames.

Two Russian missiles were reportedly fired Monday into the shopping center, in the central city of Kremenchuk. According to officials, at least 3 are dead and 40 others are wounded. But, President Zelensky says, "It is impossible to even imagine the number of victims."

As you can see, the harrowing attack sparked a huge fire and caused a huge cloud of smoke to fill up the sky ... as soldiers and firefighters sifted through the rubble to search for survivors.

Zelensky confirmed the obvious ... that the mall held no military importance, and was not even near any other military target. Quite frankly, as Ukrainian officials put it ... the attack was a downright "act of terrorism against civilians".

Zelensky called it an effort by Russia to stop “people’s attempts to live a normal life, which make the occupiers so angry.”

Russia, on the other hand, has denied attacking innocent civilians since first launching the war on Ukraine, back in February.

WNBA superstar Brittney Griner appeared in a Russian court on Monday for an important hearing in her drug case ... and while she looked to be in good shape, she was flanked by multiple security guards and had shackles on her wrists.

The Phoenix Mercury center -- who had previously been ordered to remain in pretrial detention until at least July 2 -- made the appearance wearing a grey t-shirt and sweats.

At the proceedings, a July 1 trial date was set for Griner -- nearly five months after she was initially detained in the foreign country for allegedly having hashish oil in her luggage at an airport.

Photos from the court show the 2-time Olympic gold medalist had her eyes wide open ... and was cuffed to an officer who was leading her to her court appearance.

Griner, who was ordered to stay in custody for the duration of her trial, is facing up to 10 years behind bars if she's convicted on the charges against her.

While U.S. officials, including congressman Colin Allred, have claimed Griner is "a political prisoner" ... a spokesperson for Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, told NBC News that Brittney's detainment is because she broke the country's law, not because she's being used as some sort of pawn.

J.K. Rowling fell victim to a Russian-made prank while talking to who she thought was Ukrainian President Zelensky ... but ended up being one big troll.

The author jumped on a zoom call with -- not the president -- but Russian-based comedy duo Vovan and Lexus ... the two have been known for prank-calling high-profile names, like VP Kamala Harris and Prince Harry.

The person on the other end of the Zoom call obviously kept their camera off for the interview -- major red flag. She was planning on talking to Zelensky about her charity work for Ukraine, but the guys had other plans.

In the video, the impersonator tells J.K. they've been writing "Avada Kedavra" on their missiles -- referring to the most deadly spell in her wizarding world, often called the "killing curse." She tells them it's a brilliant idea.

They also ask about Dumbledore's sexual preference, someone she's previously said was gay. "Zelensky" says they're hoping Dumbledore hasn't slept with a transgender -- poking at Rowling's strong beliefs on trans people.

Nike is leaving Russia permanently ... the shoe giant will no longer be doing business in the country after temporarily suspending its operations there 3 months ago.

Nike announced the official exit on Thursday, saying, "Our priority is to ensure we are fully supporting our employees while we responsibly scale down our operations over the coming months."

The move comes just three months after the retail giant suspended operations at all of its stores in Russia ... following Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine.

Roy Jones Jr. is clapping back at Wladimir Klitschko -- after the former 2x heavyweight champ from Ukraine questioned RJJ's "moral compass" for his close relationship with Russia -- with the Hall of Fame boxer saying he doesn't want to see anyone hurt ... Russian or Ukrainian.

And, Jones Jr. makes it clear ... if Wladimir continues to badmouth him, they can get in a ring and figure out their differences.

"I have people on both sides of the fence. I don't wanna see nobody die. Nobody fight like that because people die of war. I don't wanna see nobody on either side die. I have loved ones on both sides of the fence. You understand me? I got kids on this side, people on that side. I love both sides. I don't want to see nobody die," Roy said.

Of course, the issue couldn't be closer to Wladimir ... whose been on the ground in Ukraine throughout the entire Russian invasion, witnessing almost endless death and destruction.

In fact, Wladimir's brother Vitali Klitschko is the mayor of Kyiv ... the capital (and most populous city) of Ukraine.

During W. Klitschko's Hall of Fame induction last weekend, the now immortalized pugilist had some very strong words for Roy ... who was also inducted the same weekend.

"There's one person for whom I have a real question. One person broke Ukrainian law by going to the occupied peninsula of Crimea through Russian territory," Klitschko said.

"So, Roy, whose side are you on? On the side of the aggressor, or on the side of the defender of his right to live? I respect you as a fighter but I really question your moral compass."

FYI, a few years back, Roy became a citizen of Russia (he remains a U.S. citizen, too).

But, Roy says the last thing he wants to see is people die in a war.

"If it was up to me, we wouldn't even have a war. You understand where I'm coming from? So don't try to put me off in there like I'm some guy, 'Oh, he's happy this.' "I don't know enough about it to be happy about it. How could I tell you, I don't know that Russia wrong. I don't know that Ukraine wrong. I don't know who the hell might be right or wrong. And I don't care 'cause that's not my field."

Jones Jr. continued ... "If I was a president, senator or politician, then I'd be ready to argue with him, but I'm not. So, the only thing I can argue with him about is if he thinks he can whoop me, then we can have that argument."

Whether or not Jones Jr.'s response is enough to appease Wladimir is unclear. And, if it's not, Roy seems ready to take things to the ring.

Brittney Griner will remain in custody in Russia for at least another two and a half weeks ... the WNBA superstar's detention was just extended by a court until July 2.

The ruling was handed down on Tuesday, according to Russian state media outlet TASS, after investigators requested the extension.

The decision comes on the heels of U.S. State Department officials meeting with representatives from Brittney's current WNBA team, the Phoenix Mercury, to discuss ways to safely return the professional hooper to America.

Specific details of the meeting remain tight-lipped -- it's unclear who exactly attended or what was discussed -- but officials confirmed to the Associated Press the forum did indeed happen.