Ukrainian competitors find Invictus Games in Hague a break from war; Zelensky says 19 athletes part of nation’s ‘indomitable’ spirit
- Sporting event for active service personnel and ill, injured or wounded veterans opens on Saturday in the Dutch city
- Participants want to spread the word about reality of war back home as well as compete; 20 nations involved in event, Russia has never taken part
Until a few days ago, Volodymyr Musyak was on the front lines defending Ukraine from Russia’s devastating assault on his nation. Now he is preparing to pick up a bow and arrow in the Invictus Games archery competition.
The sporting event for active service personnel and veterans who are ill, injured or wounded opens on Saturday and ends on April 22 in the Hague, which calls itself the global centre of peace and justice.
Those concepts seem a world away to the team of 19 athletes from Ukraine and their supporters as they settle in the Dutch city for the games.
Four Ukrainians who were not due to participate in the games but were active in the worldwide community of injured servicemen and women died in March, two while on active duty and two in rocket attacks, Invictus Games organisers said on their website.
Pavlo Kovalskyi, who is taking part in rowing, archery, wheelchair basketball and possibly sitting volleyball too, said that, as well as competing, he wants to spread the word about the harsh realities of war in his homeland.
Travelling to the games gives the 31-year-old a chance “better to tell, convey information to the audience, our friends, our new acquaintances, just fellow athletes, what is happening now”, he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the team on via a video link after their arrival.
“Victory is important for us, it is important to prove that we are all unconquered,” he told the participants. “And your team is part of the spirit of indomitability of Ukraine, the Ukrainian people and each of us.”
The Ukrainians are among some 500 competitors from 20 nations taking part in the Invictus Games. Russia has never taken part in any of the previous games and does not have a team in The Hague.
The event is the brainchild of Britain’s Prince Harry, who will be in The Hague with his wife, Meghan, for the opening days of the games, which were twice delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. The first edition of the games was held in London in 2014, followed by Orlando in 2016, Toronto in 2017 and Sydney in 2018.
Service personnel compete in athletics, archery, cycling, indoor rowing, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, swimming, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair rugby as well as a driving challenge organised by one of the event’s official partners, car maker Jaguar Land Rover.
For the Ukrainians, the games are a brief respite from the grim realities of life in wartime and an opportunity to highlight the plight of their nation.
“The death, the destruction, the rapes, everything, this is something that my competitors and team staff members experience every day,” said Horbach.
“So it needs to be heard, it needs to be told. It is very important for us that we, as Ukrainians, have that voice, have a platform to voice who we are, what we do and what we experience every single day since February 24.”
Musyak, who suffers from a concussion caused by a mine blast, is competing in events including archery, but has to prepare without his coach, Dmytro Sydoruk, who died in the war.
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Hospital train ferries the wounded away from advancing Russian forces in eastern Ukraine
“On the eve of our departure, he died,” Musyak said. “Whether military or civilian, every loss for us, especially when our children are killed, when civilians are killed, when women are killed, is an irreparable loss.”
And while Musyak is competing in The Hague, his mind is elsewhere.
“We are only the second day here, we got here from the front line and, until now, I’m mentally with my brothers in arms, of course,” he said. “After the end of the competition, we return to the front line to defend our country.”
