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 .