Author: Ihor Stelmach

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian heroism has manifested itself in countless ways. Among those examples stands Yana Stepanenko, who lost both of her legs after Russia sent two guided ballistic missiles into a railway station in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, in April 2022. The 13-year-old Ukrainian amputee successfully ran the 5-kilometer event of the...

Ukraine’s gold medal champion from the 2021 Tokyo Games looks forward to defending his Greco-Roman wrestling title in Paris, but he believes Russians will stay home in protest of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) stance on their participation in the Games. Zhan Beleniuk, the first individual of African descent to be elected to the Ukrainian...

Once again, Ukraine’s athletes shined brightly on the international sports stage, this time the country’s youth men and women boxers (ages 17-18) topped the medal table in Porec, Croatia, on April 2-15 at the European Youth Boxing Champion­ships. Ukraine’s 25 boxers won 57 out of 74 total bouts including 33 preliminary, 16 semifinal and 8...

The co-main event featuring junior welterweights Nazri Rahimov of Ukraine and Jorge Moya of Colombia was rudely interrupted by air raid sirens warning of potential danger falling from the sky in Kyiv on March 30. Russia attacked Ukraine’s capital with ballistic missiles, according to promoter Vlad Eliseev who runs TBG Promotions. The sirens actually sounded...

For new National Hockey League (NHL) head coach Ryan Huska, younger players should get a chance, though playing time is not guaranteed, and communication is key. Mixing and matching lines is okay, though his team’s game is a work in progress. But Huska’s first couple of months as the new head coach of the Calgary...

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and war broke out, Alexandr Dolgopolov returned home to Ukraine and enlisted in the army. He has been fighting the Russians ever since. A former world No. 13 ranked player on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour, he had retired one year before returning to join the...

Russia has accused International Olym­pic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach of involvement in a conspiracy with Ukraine to exclude Moscow’s top athletes from participating in this year’s Paris Summer Games. The allegation was voiced on April 2 by Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova following publication of a conversation by two Russian pranksters in...

On February 8, the Toronto Raptors announced that they acquired Ukrainian forward-center Kelly Olynyk in a trade with the Utah Jazz. The 6-foot-11, 240-pound Olynyk averaged 8.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 20.4 minutes with the Jazz in 50 contests (eight starts). He was shooting a remarkable 56.2 percent from the field, including...

The Brooklyn Cyclones baseball club, a single-A affiliate of Major League Baseball’s New York Mets playing in the South Atlantic League, will host their third annual Eastern European Day on June 9, the team announced recently. The event will honor and celebrate the vibrant Eastern European community in Brooklyn, N.Y., while also showcasing the region’s...

A team of 30 Ukrainian servicemen and injured veterans won 79 medals in Las Vegas at the Air Force and Marine Corps trials event of adaptive sports. The breakdown of medals included 44 gold, 21 silver and 14 bronze medals in the sports of swimming, athletics, rowing, archery, cycling, powerlifting, sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball....

Earning a living as a cab driver in Bratislava, Slovakia, wasn’t satisfying for Ukrainian Oleksandr Vertii, so he decided to return to a job he enjoyed and was good at for many years. It would take a bit of time, some trial and error plus some daring determination, but he eventually got back to his...

Ukraine came from behind to secure a place in this summer’s European Cham­pion­ships as Mykhailo Mudryk scored a late goal to give his side a 2-1 win over Ice­land in an emotional match held in Wroc­law, Poland, on March 26. Once the final whistle blew, Mudryk dropped to his knees in prayer as tens of...