In the middle of the war against Russia, Ukrainian volleyball player Dmytro Melnyk left the hell of the front, where he leads an infantry platoon, to participate in the Paralympic Games in Paris.
Another Paralympic athlete with an incredible profile: A Ukrainian infantry platoon leader participate in the Paris Games. soldier and volleyball playerDmytro Melnyk, 45, is one of the 141 athletes in the Ukrainian delegation. But, like many of his compatriots, his mind is elsewhere.
This 45-year-old officer He has no news of the 35 men who are under his command since he left for France on August 18. Speaking briefly to journalists, Dmytro Melnyk said that he could not call them to give them news because “they are in hell” and, above all, he could not contact them from France.
Their only hope is to find them safe and sound after the Paris Games, in the trenches of Chasiv Yarcity in eastern Ukraine bombed for months by Russian forces.
The infantry officer told his story Friday after his volleyball team’s opening game, to the point that his interpreter burst into tears. Private Melnyk is no stranger to the Paralympic world: In fact, he is a veteran. He already qualified for the Rio Games in 2016.
An athlete who commands respect
His left leg was injured in an accident when he was only 18 years old and is now a few centimeters shorter. When she is standing, her left foot is on tiptoe, while her right foot is flat on the ground.
Despite this handicap, the officer did everything possible to convince his superiors to enlist in the army. His recruitment? It was down to his determination and “a bit of cunning,” he said. Dmytro Melnyk did not give further details, but joked that, when he is with his troops, he pretends to limp because his boots are too tight. The volleyball player said he had originally served as a drone operator before becoming an infantry officer.
But The Paralympic volleyball team is “my second family”says Melnyk. “I’ve been playing this sport for about 20 years. I just don’t have the right to let my team down.”
A companion with an amputated forehead
His teammate Yevhenii Korinets was delighted that the Ukrainian army commanders would have finally allowed Melnyk to temporarily leave the battlefield.
“It’s very difficult for him, because Serving in the Army is a 24/7 job” he said through the translator. “You are always stressed by the constant bombings and the constant risk situations for your own life and it is a great achievement for us and for Dmytro to be here.”
Yevhenii Korinets, 27, also fought on the front. He was seriously injured by the explosion of a minelosing his left leg, in March 2023, during another fierce battle, that of Bakhmut.
A physiotherapist before the war, the young man had enlisted to fight when Russia launched the full-scale invasion, in February 2022, and then became military ambulance driver. “I couldn’t stay home,” she confesses.
From battlefield to sporting eventUkraine’s first match in the group stage unfortunately did not go as planned. The team lost in three straight sets against Iran, one of Moscow’s allies in the Ukraine war and supplier of the country’s infamous and deadly drones.
Yevhenii Korinets declined to comment when asked if the volleyball match had felt like a volleyball match. grudge against Iran. As a sign of their fair play, the Ukrainians shook hands with the winners at the end of the match.
Defeated in Paris, the Ukrainians are no less determined: “I have a message for the world: Don’t be afraid“Never be afraid of anyone, especially terrorists and murderers,” declared Dmytro Melnyk. “The more afraid we are, the more people will die. And unfortunately not only in Ukraine. “Everyone should be aware of that.”
