Ukrainian War Veterans Strike Gold in California

Competing against veterans from the US and UK with limited resources and facilities back home, Ukraine’s 15-member team of wounded veterans brought home 27 gold medals from Camp Pendleton. Make us preferred on Google Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Silver medals for the Ukrainian Wheelchair Rugby Team, March 2026. (Photo courtesy Hennadii Popenko) Content Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Flip Make us preferred on Google While the war grinds on at home, 15 Ukrainian wounded veterans traveled to Camp Pendleton in San Diego in February and March and delivered a different kind of victory – 27 gold medals at the US Marine Corps and Air Force Trials. The Marine Corps and Air Force Trials is an adaptive sports competition for severely wounded war veterans, designed to promote recovery and an active lifestyle. It also serves as a qualifying event for American veterans seeking to compete in the Warrior Games, one of the premier international events for wounded veterans alongside the Invictus Games. Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official . Ukraine has participated in the Invictus Games, which were founded by Prince since 2017 and the Warrior Games since 2022, consistently earning strong medal tallies. The Ukrainian national team of 15 – 13 men and two women – was selected from a pool of 400 applicants. The team competed against veterans primarily from the US and the UK, countries that, along with Ukraine, have seen the highest rates of serious combat injuries in the Western world in recent years. The trials are a significant platform for veterans recovering from service-related injuries, featuring 11 adaptive sports including wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, archery, indoor rowing, swimming, cycling, and powerlifting. Kyiv Post spoke with Hennadii Popenko, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Ministry of Veterans Affairs and a veteran himself, after the team returned from Camp Pendleton. Other Topics of Interest For Ukraine, Iran War Is Another Competition With Russia Recent geopolitical shifts in the Middle East have created an opening for Kyiv. Ukrainian Rowing Team. Yaroslav Behas (second from left, back), won one gold and one silver medal, Vadym Honcharenko (middle, front), won two gold medals, Hennadii Popenko (right, front), Ministry of Veterans Affairs. March 2026. (Photo courtesy Hennadii Popenko) With 15 participants and more than 40 medals, there must have been several medals for some of them? Yes, for example, a top sportsman from the Ukrainian side was the swimmer Ivan Artiukh, who won four gold medals in different swimming disciplines. Jaroslav Behas won gold medals in several sports: Rowing, Cycling, Swimming and Sitting Volleyball. Ivan Artiukh who won four gold medals in Swimming. March 2026. (Photo courtesy Hennadii Popenko) Have Ukrainian veteran athletes qualified for the Warrior Games in 2026? We don’t know yet if we are going to participate in the Warrior Games this summer, it doesn’t work like that. We are well qualified, but we only participate on invitation from the US Armed Forces. We are visitors – if they invite us, we will go with open heart and mind, but that is still to be seen. Video recordings from the competition posted on social media show that the Ukrainian participants receive a lot of support during the competitions. What does it mean for the Ukrainian participants to compete in this? It is very important to participate in these types of events, because it gives them a chance to meet people outside Ukraine and talk with them, to talk about the situation, to get to know what others understand about the situation in Ukraine. It is important for people in other countries to hear about the war from the Ukrainian veterans themselves. That also means that the Ukrainian veterans are very motivated to both compete and to socialize. For Ukraine, a country in war, what are the training opportunities? Do you have facilities where you can train for competition? When we came to Camp Pendleton, we realized how much better facilities the USA has with different sports halls and how they were adapted for wheelchairs. But not only that, the American contestants had their own team, a support technical team that reminded me of the scenes in Formula One – when something happens in Formula One, the team repair in a few seconds – the same thing happened here at the US Marine Corps and Air Force Trials, the Americans had a similar team for the contestants with wheelchairs. That was an amazing level of service. Silver medal for the Ukrainian Wheelchair Rugby Team. Vadym Honcharenko (middle, front) and Dmytro Rybachenko (right, front). March 2026. (Photo courtesy Hennadii Popenko) Are there any disciplines in competition that the Ukrainian veterans cannot take part in because of a lack of facilities in Ukraine? The biggest problems are the swimming pools. Many of them are old and in need of thorough renovation or completely new construction. The reality is that it is not possible to build new swimming pools during wartime. Some swimming pools are handicap accessible, but for the veterans, for example, another type of lift is needed. Some swimming pools are handicap accessible with lift and can be used by the veterans, just as the civilian disabled people use it. However, for some veterans, such as veterans with high leg amputations, an additional type of lift is needed. If you don’t have two legs, you first need the regular lift from the ground. And then you need a second lift entering from the pool side into the water. The second lift is crucial for veterans with leg amputations. But some pools don’t even have that first lift. Another thing we lack is enough wheelchairs. Especially for team games – that is significant. Not only to win, but for motivation. Competing in a team is important for motivation; you win together, and that is exactly what our veterans need. How is all this activity financed? The veterans’ trip to participate in this competition was funded mainly by the contributors Ministry of Veterans Affairs, UKRGASBANK and Come Back Alive foundation. Come Back Alive foundation supports the Ukrainian Defense Forces by among others promoting the rehabilitation of veterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war through sports. There are many smaller contributors that also provide a significant amount of sponsoring, but there is always a need for more funders.