More than four years have passed since the war stopped being a distant threat and began dictating, day after day, the calendar of the Ukrainian cross-country ski team. Results on the snow are almost secondary: for athletes and coaches, staying on the FIS circuit means, above all, staying together as a team.

Training between blackouts and air-raid sirens

Training World Cup athletes in a country where the power can go out without warning, and where air-raid alerts matter more than the stopwatch, takes a level of organization no manual prepares you for. The team’s life now unfolds in two settings: weeks at home, when possible, and long training camps abroad, no longer the exception, but the norm.

In Chernihiv, where the historic cross-country center is only partly usable, the athletes still train on tracks and forest paths that bear the marks of the war. Sometimes a training session is stopped by a siren or a drone flying close, and everyone has to run to the bunkers. The old buildings, including dormitories, are mostly destroyed. Instead, locker rooms and storage rooms are made from containers and mobile structures. Rebuilding is not an option while the war goes on, so these temporary solutions have become permanent. Federal coach Mykola Vorchak told the Associated Press:

“Our young people continue to pursue their dream despite extreme difficulties and alerts; every kilometer on the snow is a test of endurance that goes far beyond the stopwatch.”

This is why the main team, which must compete in every stage, has moved almost permanently outside the country. Training camps take place in Central Europe, but Italy has become a true second home for the team. Livigno is the first stop of the season, valuable in autumn thanks to snowfarming, which lets the team start training on snow early. In Val di Fiemme, around the Passo Lavazè trails, the team works on technique at altitude, splitting distance and sprint training to refine every detail.

Preparation also continues indoors, on the ski tunnel in Oberhof, Germany, where in August and September the athletes get used to winter conditions. When they need guaranteed snow during difficult times of the year, the team goes to Val Senales, on the glacier tracks. Three bases in Italy, one purpose: keeping the training going when nothing at home can be guaranteed.

Speaking about this life full of suitcases, top cross-country skier Viktoriia Olekh (who at the time of writing is not competing) told FasterSkier that “our life has changed completely; training abroad all the time, far from everything we love, is the only way to exist as a team and defend our country’s dignity on every international track.”

The story continues below.

Behind every training camp there’s also a cost no line item can capture: months away from home, away from families who live under the very same sirens.

Veterans and a new generation

Behind the logistics is a squad blending experience and youth: the team that competed through the World Cup season and into the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics brought together seasoned athletes and fast-improving newcomers.

Among the men, the key name is Oleksandr Lisohor, who regularly competes in distance races and team events, from the 50km to relays. Alongside him, Andriy Dotsenko and Denys Muhotinov have been fixtures on the circuit all season.

The story continues below.

In the women’s group, the main point of reference remains Viktoriia Olekh, but around her a strong group of young athletes has grown in a few seasons: Anastasiia Nikon, Sofiia Shkatula, Daryna Myhal, Yelizaveta Nopriienko. That depth has let Ukraine field competitive squads in individual events and the 4×7.5km relay — often against rivals whose facilities have never been touched by war.

Also training with the group is Khrystyna Dmytrenko, a biathlete assigned to the cross-country team by order of the Ukrainian federation. She served in the army in 2022, during the first months of Russia’s full-scale invasion, and told the Associated Press:

“Every time we are on the starting line, we carry the voice, courage, and strength of our people; sport can show the world that Ukraine is strong and will not surrender.”

Looking ahead

The cycle that ended with the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympics stretched the Ukrainian federation’s financial and human resources to the limit. Even so, despite a tight budget and no modern facilities at home, the team competed in every World Cup stage and every major FIS race. The goal isn’t fighting for the podiums that traditional powers like Norway and Sweden dominate; it’s holding onto solid competitive standards, getting the most out of the equipment they have, and supporting every athlete in the squad.

Despite everything, Ukrainian cross-country skiing keeps moving forward, helped by committed coaches and by international federations that step in when national resources fall short. The next challenge is the future itself: the federation is working to shield young athletes from the direct effects of the war, offering them safe training bases abroad for the most promising prospects born after 2005, above all Anhelina Hryhorenko (2007) and Oleksandr Shovkoplias (2009), the athletes who will carry the program into the next decade.

Are you interested in traditional cross-country skiing? Click HERE and read more about it.