Author: Ihor Stelmach

Fifteen-year-old Maria Kravchenko has a real passion for go-karting. Her goal for this year was to organize an all-girls team to take part in Ukraine’s National Karting Championships. Her father, Mykhailo, was the guide, coach and inspiration behind this serious hobby and ultimate dream. Unfortunately, as a result of Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine, Maria...

If he had won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Mykhailo Romanchuk may have retired from swimming. One year later, the swimming pool has become his personal battleground. It gives him an opportunity to do his part in defending his homeland from Russian invaders. Last February when Russia launched its full-scale war on Ukraine,...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelens­kyy is upset at the potential of Russian and Belarusian athletes returning to international competitions. Following talks with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, Zelenskyy tweeted that athletes from those two countries should remain banned from the international sporting arena while the war in Ukraine rages on. Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter...

The best in the world went at it at the 2022 Wrestling World Cup in Coralville, Iowa, on December 10-11. The women’s competition had the United States, Japan, Mongolia, Ukraine, China and an All-World Team made up of wrestlers who placed highly in international competition, but whose countries failed to qualify for this event. Having...

Her new adopted home in Scotland has given Mariia Zobenko much more than some breathing space. The 19-year-old law student fled her home in Dnipro, Ukraine, in June, leaving behind her family and friends. She also thought she left behind her dream of someday becoming a full-time soccer referee after a devastating, full-scale war launched...

SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn. – When Russia launched its full-scale war on Ukraine in late February, executives at ESPN, among the world’s largest sports broadcasters, wanted to tell Ukraine’s story in a way that was “organic and authentic.” They chose to tell it through E60, a weekly, one-hour program that features investigative reports and big-name profiles....

On December 11, about an hour before the first airing of ESPN’s latest edition of their E60 series, The Ukrainian Weekly spoke with Russell Dinallo, producer and director of the feature, about the Ukrainian national football team’s journey to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. What follows is an abridged and edited version of that...

His name is Mario Ferri. He is known as Il Falco (The Falcon), and in the 52nd minute of Portugal and Uruguay’s 2022 World Cup Group H match at Lusail Stadium on November 28 he ran out onto the pitch carrying a rainbow flag and wearing a Superman t-shirt with the words “Save Ukraine” on...

14-year-old Serhii Tymoshenko and 9-year-old Danylo Tetiana are young Ukrainian refugees currently living in temporary quarters on the MS Ambition cruise ship at the King George V Docks on the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Before their escape from their Ukrainian home with their families, the two lads enjoyed playing ice hockey. When the local...

Twelve-year-old Stanislav Drabych, affectionately called “Stas,” relocated to the town of Monifieth in the council area of Angus, Scotland, in March. It did not take very long for his new school to learn about his skills on the pitch. Upon hearing of this talented young man from his head teacher, Dundee United FC offered Stas...

Seventeen-year-old Marat Usov has always found solace and joy in the water. It is where he feels ultimate relaxation, comfort and focus. It is like a second home for this talented Ukrainian swimmer. At Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City, Mo., Usov excelled in the pool, where he is the owner of four individual school...

These days, Ukrainian football enthusiasts often hurry from having played a fun game on a snow-covered makeshift field to a television somewhere hoping that the power will stay on long enough so that they can watch World Cup game. Most Ukrainian soccer fans were thrilled to see England knock Wales out of the global tournament...