Author: Ihor Stelmach

Ukraine was handed a partial closed-doors punishment and fined on October 20 after UEFA confirmed Ukrainian fans verbally accosted England and Italy with racist abuse in September. The penalty is a partial stadium closure and UEFA has hit the Ukrainian Football Association with a fine of 15,000 euros (nearly $16,000). The matches involved were the...

With the National Basketball Associa­tion’s (NBA) Phoenix Suns having made their move for Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma’s new destinations were rumored to be the Houston Rockets and the Indiana Pacers, according to Yahoo Sports. Having played the past two seasons with the Washington Wizards, Kuzma declined his $13 million player option for next season and...

Thirty-eight-year-old Philadelphia 76ers forward P.J. Tucker spent parts of two seasons (2008-2009 and 2009-2010) playing for BC Donetsk of the Ukrainian Super League, among his five total years overseas. When he reminisces about his playing time in Ukraine, his thoughts go out to those he knew there, aware some were forced to flee their homeland...

Ukraine continued its dominance over North Macedonia in a Euro 2024 qualifying match held on October 14 at the Generali Arena Stadium in Prague, Czech Republic. The 2-0 victory for the Ukrainians was their fifth in seven games, in addition to a draw and one loss. Heorhiy Sudakov scored Ukraine’s first goal and his first...

Ukraine moved ahead of Italy into Group C’s second spot after their 3-1 come-from-behind win in Malta. Paul Mbong gave the winless underdog Malta squad a shockingly quick (12th minute) lead by scoring the team’s second goal in European Champion­ship qualifying play. An own goal from Ryan Kamenzuli got Ukraine level (38th minute) before Artem...

It did not take long for the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Executive Board to suspend the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) “with immediate effect until further notice.” One of the first items on the agenda in Mumbai, India, on October 12 was an official response to the ROC’s recognition of regional sports organizations from four Ukrainian...

After seven Russians were approved to compete as neutrals, including one who Ukrainian officials say is an “active military man,” Ukraine withdrew from the World Junior Judo Championships that were held on October 4-8 in Portugal (Later reports said that the soldier, Dmitry Yakushev, was not allowed to compete). In April, the International Judo Fede­ration...

On February 26, the Nashville Predators announced that Ukrainian Barry Trotz, the first ever coach in Predators’ history, is taking over from David Poile as the team’s new general manager. Trotz will be responsible for all facets of the club’s hockey operations, including coaching, scouting, player transactions, player development and all minor league operations. Trotz...

In the span of a week from late September into October, soccer’s two main governing bodies announced that they were lifting their bans on Russian teams participating in international competitions, allowing the country’s men’s and women’s squads to take part in their respective U-17 World Cups. Both FIFA, called by many the most powerful sports...

The 2023 Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating was held on September 20-23 in Budapest, Hungary. The event was the fifth of seven in the Junior Grand Prix series and featured four disciplines: singles (women and men), pairs and ice dance. Ukrainians Iryna Pidgaina and Artem Koval finished first and won the gold medal in...

Viktoriia Khandusenko took up football at the age of six-and-a-half, playing on the streets of Kharkiv, Ukraine. The 15-year-old arrived in Weston, England, in June 2022, and on February 25 she had the chance to win the league title with her under-16 team. However, her trek to unheard-of success was accompanied by a most unsettling...

When news broke in the hockey world on September 22, the immediate reaction was that Nikita Zadorov will not be returning home to Russia any time soon, if at all. On the first day of the Calgary Flames’ 2023 training camp, the Russian defenseman spoke candidly about his opposition to Russia’s war on Ukraine during...