Ukraine to Compete at the 2026 Paralympic Games with a Record-Breaking Squad: Who Is on the Roster

Ukraine will send 35 athletes to the 2026 Winter Paralympics, competing in four sports with a record 25 quota places, including several debutants.

A total of 35 athletes are included in the squad.

The Ukrainian national team has finalized its roster for the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Milan–Cortina. The lineup was reported exclusively to Suspilne Sport by the National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine.

In total, the “blue and yellows” secured 25 quota places for the 2026 Paralympics. Ukraine will be represented by 35 athletes — 25 Paralympians and 10 guides. The Ukrainian team will compete in four sports: para biathlon, para cross-country skiing, para alpine skiing, and para snowboarding.

What is known about the composition of Ukraine’s national team?

• The 25 quota places mark the best result in Ukraine’s history at the Winter Paralympic Games level. Previously, the team’s largest representation was at the 2014 Winter Paralympics, when the country was represented by 23 athletes across three sports.

• Ukraine will compete in alpine skiing for the first time since 2014, and in snowboarding for the first time since 2018. Two debutants will fight for a Paralympic podium: blogger and author of the YouTube channel “Odniieiu Pravoiu” Vladyslav Khilchenko in snowboarding, and alpine skier Maksym Heliuta.

• Overall, Ukraine’s squad includes nine debutants for the 2026 Winter Paralympics. In addition to Maksym Heliuta and Vladyslav Khilchenko, there are seven skiers and biathletes: Dmytro Sereda, Hryhorii Shymko, Romana Lobasheva, Ilona Kazik, Oleksandra Danylenko, Maksym Murashkovskyi, and Ihor Kravchuk. Notably, Lobasheva made her international debut only in 2025 and had previously competed in athletics.

• The most experienced Paralympians on the Ukrainian team are Oleksandra Kononova, Hryhorii Vovchynskyi, and Oksana Shyshkova, who also competed at the 2010 Winter Paralympics.

• The “blue and yellows” squad for the Winter Paralympics also includes a medalist of the 2024 Summer Paralympics — Pavlo Bal, who won Ukraine’s historic medal in the road handbike race. Bal made his Winter Paralympic debut at the 2022 Winter Paralympics, where his best result was sixth place in the 10 km biathlon middle-distance race.

• The national team’s roster for the Paralympics also includes one participant of the 2026 Winter Olympics — guide Dmytro Dragun.

Ukraine’s Squad for the 2026 Winter Paralympics

• Para cross-country skiing and para biathlon (athletes with physical impairments): Hryhorii Vovchynskyi, Dmytro Sereda, Serhii Romaniuk, Serafym Dragun, Oleksandr Aleksyk, Pavlo Bal, Vasyl Kravchuk, Taras Rad, Hryhorii Shymko, Iryna Bui, Liudmyla Liashenko, Oleksandra Kononova, Bohdana Konashchuk.

• Para cross-country skiing and para biathlon (athletes with visual impairments): Oleksandr Kazik, Anatolii Kovalevskyi, Yaroslav Reshetynskyi, Dmytro Suiarko, Maksym Murashkovskyi, Ihor Kravchuk; Romana Lobasheva, Ilona Kazik, Oksana Shyshkova, Oleksandra Danylenko.
• Guides: Serhii Kucheriavyi, Dmytro Dragun, Artem Kazarian, Oleksandr Mukshyn, Oleksandr Nikonovych, Andrii Dotsenko, Vitalii Trush, Mykyta Stakhurskyi, Daryna Kovalova, Anastasiia Shabaldina.

• Para alpine skiing: Maksym Heliuta.

• Para snowboarding: Vladyslav Khilchenko.

How Ukraine Previously Performed at the Winter Paralympic Games

• 1998 Winter Paralympics (Nagano): 3 gold + 2 silver + 4 bronze

• 2002 Winter Paralympics (Salt Lake City): 0 + 6 + 6

• 2006 Winter Paralympics (Turin): 7 + 9 + 9

• 2010 Winter Paralympics (Vancouver): 5 + 8 + 6

• 2014 Winter Paralympics (Sochi): 5 + 9 + 11

• 2018 Winter Paralympics (PyeongChang): 7 + 7 + 8

• 2022 Winter Paralympics (Beijing): 11 + 10 + 8