Metinvest's veterans embody not only courage, loyalty and responsibility, but also great strength of spirit, discipline and unwavering faith in their own abilities. Despite severe injuries and wounds, they do not stand aside from life. For many of them, sport has become not only a way to recover after injuries but also an opportunity to discover new meanings in life.
Regular, structured athletic training provides recovery, motivation, discipline, and an effective remedy against stress and anxiety. And also new social connections, a source of inspiration and a way to savour other, new facets of life.
For two years now, combat veteran Valerii KROPOVA has been personally building a barrier-free country – both in everyday life and on sports grounds. In addition to his military achievements, Valerii boasts dozens of sporting awards, medals and trophies. After being discharged from service for health reasons, Valerii now works as a general labourer in the maintenance and operations shop at Central Iron Ore. A participant in the Kryvyi Rih VETERANS FAMILY GAMES, the Veterans’ Games, Titans UA, and more. He is a regular member of the Kryvyi Rih team "Unbroken".
As part of Dnipropetrovsk regional team, Valerii secured second place at the Ukrainian Sitting Volleyball Championship. The competition, held in late October in Poltava, brought together the strongest teams in the country. Its participants are athletes with musculoskeletal impairments. As the veteran notes, the silver medal at the championship is a highly significant achievement:
“Among the participants were medallists of European championships, so you can imagine the level of the athletes. Very high! I am immensely pleased that, at the age of 53, I have become the vice-champion of Ukraine as part of the team. This is a special achievement for me and an important milestone on my life’s journey."
Valerii has been playing sitting volleyball for two years. He had heard that such a sport existed before, but he had never paid it any attention.
"For many, this is a new sport, and it is now very popular among veterans, especially those who lost limbs in the war. In fact, it originated long ago, in the middle of the last century in the Netherlands – primarily as a means of rehabilitation for military personnel. Although anyone can take part in it, regardless of physical limitations. It has completely drawn me in. And now I can say with certainty: this is my sport. After a long period of rehabilitation and prosthetic treatment, volleyball, as well as table tennis, became the best option for me to return to an active lifestyle. I am now a permanent member of the team and continue to work on improving my level of mastery."
Valerii trains twice a week together with twenty other members of the "Unbroken" team, supported by the city authorities of Kryvyi Rih, who provide facilities for activities such as volleyball, swimming, shooting, and more.
In two weeks, Valerii will travel to Kyiv to take part in the All-Ukrainian table tennis tournament. He passed the qualifying competitions and earned his place. He says he has set himself a goal: advancing from the group stage.
“I do not aspire to reach for the stars – I know my level and my strength. But I always strive to be better and more skilful than I was yesterday, to raise the bar for myself,” Valerii comments. "Training always delivers results. This year, for example, we have mastered a new sport – pétanque. And in the summer, at the national championship in Lviv, our "Unbroken" team took fourth place among eighteen teams. And that was after only six months of training! I believe this is a great achievement. Overall, this year has been a breakthrough for me in many ways. My wife once remarked: "You’ve visited more places in one year than I have in my entire life." Indeed, numerous trips to competitions have greatly diversified my life and made it more interesting. This is highly inspiring and encouraging. Thank you all for your support – colleagues, comrades, trainers and the city. My sincere thanks to Central Iron Ore for not leaving me behind, and to all my loved ones who stand by me and help me achieve new sporting milestones."
In October, another of our veteran colleagues returned from competitions in Spain with numerous victories – Oleksii KRAVETS, Dispatcher at Kolachevsky Mine of Central Iron Ore.
As part of the Ukrainian national team, Oleksii delivered an outstanding performance at the international veterans’ sporting event, the Strong Spirit’s Games 2025, held in Madrid, where he secured two first places and two second places in strength disciplines:
First place – bench press for repetitions and bench press for maximum weight; second place – air bike and kettlebell press.
The Strong Spirit’s Games are international multi-sport competitions featuring adaptive disciplines for combat veterans, both with and without injuries. This year, 66 participants travelled from Ukraine to take part in the competition.
