European Aquatics President Antonio Silva, accompanied by Vice President Erkan Yalcin, has visited Ukraine to demonstrate solidarity with the country’s athletes, coaches, officials and aquatic sports family.
The visit included stops in Kyiv, Lviv and Odessa, which permitted a first-hand understanding of the daily realities facing Ukrainian sport during an exceptionally difficult period for the nation.
Across a series of meetings, competitions and training centre visits, he met athletes, federation leaders, coaches and government representatives who continue to develop and protect aquatic sports despite the challenges created by the ongoing situation in the country.
“Having the chance to acquaint myself with the living conditions and the reality in which aquatic sports continue to develop in Ukraine was both moving and inspiring,” said President Silva. “I have seen extraordinary resilience, dedication and unity from everyone involved in our sport. European Aquatics stands firmly alongside our Ukrainian colleagues and athletes, and we remain committed to supporting them and helping build a brighter future for aquatics in Ukraine.”
A central part of the visit was attendance at the National Swimming Championships in Brovary, Kyiv region, where President Silva watched the finals session and participated in the medal ceremonies at the Kupava swimming pool on 14 May 2026. The event also featured a farewell ceremony honouring decorated Olympic medallist and multiple World and European champion Mykhailo Romanchuk.
The championships brought together leading representatives of Ukrainian sport and public life, including National Olympic Committee President Vadym Gutzeit, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine for European Integration Viktoriia Riasna, Ukrainian Swimming Federation President Andrii Vlaskov, Lviv Regional Swimming Federation Vice-President Adrian Hutnyk, and Volodymyr Volkovynskyi, First Vice-President of the Ukrainian Diving Federation and Diving Federation of Kyiv City.
The delegation also met retired artistic swimming champion Marta Fiedina, now President of the Kyiv City Artistic Swimming Federation and state coach of the Ukrainian national synchronised swimming team, together with Anna Sorokina, Chair of the European Aquatics Technical Diving Committee.
Further meetings in Kyiv included visits with members of the Ukrainian National Diving Team and young artistic swimmers from the State Training Center in Artistic Swimming and Diving at the Liko SportLife pool complex.
At the Liko Sports Centre, the main training base for Ukraine’s national diving and artistic swimming squads, President Silva and Marta Fiedina spent time speaking with young artistic swimmers and coaches about their daily training environment, ambitions and the challenges they continue to overcome.
During the visit, President Silva also highlighted the strong cooperation with Ukranian Diving and Synchro Swimming Federation President, Igor Lysov, who has played a major role in supporting and developing both diving and artistic swimming in Ukraine, including the maintenance and operation of the private Liko facility over the past 12 years.
The venue has previously hosted two European Diving Championships, in 2017 and 2019, as well as two World Junior Diving Championships, in 2018 and 2021, and remains one of the key centres for aquatic sports development in the country. European Aquatics also expressed hope that Ukraine will be able to welcome international events again in the near future.
President Silva and Vice President Yalcin held a series of working meetings with athletes, coaching staff and federation leadership, while also personally reviewing the training conditions for divers and artistic swimmers.
Among the athletes present were leading Ukrainian diver Oleksii Sereda, alongside Mark Hrytsenko, Diana Karnafel, Ksenia Bochek, Kirill Boliukh and Stanislav Oliferchyk, as well as Head Coach Illia Tseliutin. Discussions focused on athlete preparation, training conditions and the continued development of elite aquatic sports programmes in Ukraine.
The European Aquatics delegation also visited the National Olympic Koncha-Zaspa Training Center, where meetings took place with Director Andrii Kryliuk and representatives involved in sports infrastructure development, including Volodymyr Shumilin, Director of ATM LTD.
In another important engagement, the delegation met leaders of the National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine, including President Valerii Sushkevych and Vice-President Oksana Skugareva. Conversations highlighted the remarkable achievements and determination of Ukrainian Paralympic sport, as well as the importance of continued international cooperation and support.
During the visit to Lviv, the European Aquatics delegation held meetings with representatives of regional and city authorities. At the Lviv Region State Administration, meetings took place with Maksym Kozytskyi, Head of the Lviv Region State Administration, Roman Khimyak, Head of the Youth and Sports Department of Lviv Region State Administration, Mykhailo Tsymbalyuk, Ukrainian Rada Parlimentry, and Andriyan Gutnyk, first vice-president of the Swimming Federation of Ukraine.
The delegation also met with Andriy Sadovyi, Mayor of Lviv, and Andriy Moskalenko, first Deputy Mayor of Lviv, at the Lviv City Council, together with Oleksandr Svishchev, President of the Ukrainian Water Polo Federation.
During their stay in Lviv, the delegation visited the Field of Mars memorial site and the SUPERHUMANS centre for war veterans, an internationally recognised initiative supported by Prince Harry.
President Silva and Vice President Yalcin also attended the final match of the Ukrainian Water Polo Championship, where President Silva presented the championship trophy to Dynamo Lviv, crowned Ukrainian champions for the 13th time and eighth consecutive season. NTU KPI Kharkiv finished as runners-up.
Throughout the visit, President Silva emphasised the unity of the European aquatic family and praised the courage and perseverance shown by athletes, coaches and officials across the country.
“Sport has a unique power to inspire hope and bring people together, even in the most difficult circumstances,” he said. “The Ukrainian aquatic community continues to demonstrate immense strength and dignity. European Aquatics will continue to stand with them.”
In the final stop, in Odessa, the meeting was hosted by City’s Council Head of Sports, Roman Terentyev.
