With a foot missing, sometimes a leg, or both, a teacher, a poet, a bartender, a security guard, a journalist, and 29 other veterans of the Russian war against Ukraine, made their way into a gala dinner just before the Invictus Games in Vancouver, Canada.
This is the fifth year Team Ukraine, now with a complement of 35, has participated in the Games, a competition for injured and wounded military and first responders.
Vyacheslav Kaistro, a wildlife photographer who’s spent a lifetime capturing photos of birds, said through an interpreter that he’d never imagined joining the military.
Kaistro lost a leg in 2023 in combat in the Donetsk area. He said his passion has been bird photography, and he always told his family and friends to look up at the sky. “But what I realize now is that sometimes you need to look after your feet.”
He’s competing in snowboarding, swimming, wheelchair basketball, and rugby and says sports give him a chance to shift focus away from the war. The full-scale war began on 24 February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Alla Senchenko just marked the second anniversary of her freedom after spending eight months as a prisoner of war, she said through an interpreter. It’s the date she said she celebrates as the beginning of a new human being.
She had already served in the military for three years before the full-scale invasion, then rejoined with the Territorial Defense, and was captured by the Russians in May 2022 in the Donetsk area.
While she was in captivity, two of her fellow soldiers were killed in front of her eyes.
“There was nothing that I could do. They simply were shot in the head and executed before me.”
According to the team’s handbook, she’ll compete in snowboard, skeleton, indoor rowing, and wheelchair curling. She said that participating in the Games restored her faith in society and her belief in justice and promised to continue fighting in memory of her fallen comrades.
She said she appreciated the care and support she received during the Games and always considered Canada to be Ukraine’s godmother.
The Games are a reminder that by investing in people and standing together in the face of adversity, a safer, more secure world can be created, said Nataliya Kalmykova, Ukraine’s minister of veterans.
Ukrainian ambassador to Canada Yuliya Kovaliv, added that in 2014, when Russia was occupying Crimea, the world wasn’t hearing Ukraine when it said it was only the beginning.
When Russia invaded full scale on 24 February 2022, “and Russian missiles were flying over peaceful Ukrainian cities… this was the final call to wake up.
“…this is the start of the biggest conventional war since the Second World War.”
What Russia has done is started to challenge the concept of sovereignty and territorial integrity, Kovaliv added.
She urged support for Ukraine “because this will not only be our victory, it will be our joint victory.”
People ask what normal people can do, she said. “We need to all realize that our willpower is huge. And each of us, and all of us together, can do a lot of things.”
Ukraine has been fighting for more than 10 years, she added.
“The effects of this war will last a lifetime for these people,” added Christian Borys, who created the Saint Javelin image and products in January 2022 in order to help Ukraine. The social enterprise has now raised more than $2.3 million.
Team Ukraine received a massive standing ovation as it walked into the stadium for the opening ceremonies.
Games founder Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, also spoke at the event which kicked off the Games, which run from 8 February to 16, in Vancouver-Whistler.
