Recreational swimming training sessions for Ukrainian defenders and veterans have been running for almost a year as part of the "Free Waves" rehabilitation project.
Classes for defenders are held free of charge. This year, almost 300 training sessions were organized for over a hundred veterans and active military personnel.
An individual program is created for each participant depending on the nature of the injuries. Besides physical recovery, the project helps to improve mental health ‒ a psychologist works with participants directly in the pool. There are so many people who want to join that the organizers are already looking for additional pools for classes in Zaporizhzhia.
War veteran Timur SHKODA is preparing for one of his trainings. For him, this is only the second lesson within the framework of "Free Waves", and so far he is getting used to the water.
– The coach advised me to swim more slowly. He says that my technique is more or less okay, but first I need to just feel myself, to swim longer and slower. I think I will work more fruitfully today. The first lesson was just to feel the water, to swim. I live near the water, I swam from time to time, I understood how to move after an amputation, but then I swam a hundred meters and then fast back to the shore. Here I swam for a longer distance," says Timur.
Unlike most participants who attend training for rehabilitation, Timur is preparing for the veteran MOVE ON SPORT swim in the Lviv region.
– We offered Timur to come to us at "Free Waves", because we have a qualified coach who will help him. In general, this project was created for people like him," says Dmytro KHALILOV, director of the NGO "Zaporizhzhia. Platform for Joint Action".
Timur joined the army at the end of 2022. In the fall of 2023, while performing a combat mission, he lost his leg. Then there was prosthetics and rehabilitation at the Lviv center, which became a co-organizer of the veterans' swim.
– I got a prosthetic in Lviv. You could say that I underwent most of my rehabilitation there. Now I'm preparing for a swim, I was offered to take part in the 1500-meter race, and I agreed," says the defender.
The veteran does not aim to win a prize. He says that the main thing for him is to spend time with his brothers-in-arms.
– The main thing is to continue to live actively. To join veterans' unions, to such events," Timur emphasizes.
The "Free Waves" project was launched by Zaporizhzhia athlete and Olympic medalist Denys Silantiev.
Financial support for "Free Waves" in Zaporizhzhia is provided by Metinvest in coordination with Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works and the NGO "Zaporizhzhia. Platform for Joint Action".
The program for the rehabilitation of veterans on the water has been successfully operating in Zaporizhzhia and Kryvyi Rih since 2024, and since 2025 it has started in Kamianske. Denis Silantiev's technique uses swimming as a tool for recovery from serious injuries: reduces stress on the joints, improves coordination, endurance, reduces stress and helps to normalize sleep.
Currently, the project in Zaporizhzhia has been extended until the end of 2025.
