In the shell-pocked outskirts of Chernihiv, northern Ukraine, the piercing wail of an air raid siren has become as routine as the scrape of skis on snow. Here, at the historic Sports Ski Base of the Olympic Reserve, about 350 of the nation's most promising young cross-country skiers and biathletes continue their pursuit of sporting excellence, their training grounds a stark monument to the ongoing war with Russia.
Training Grounds in the Crosshairs
The sprawling complex, which produced Ukraine's first Olympic medalist as an independent nation, remains in ruins following Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. Its dormitories are bombed-out shells, and unexploded ordnance litters the surrounding forest. Yet, within fenced-off safe areas, drills persist. Athletes navigate snowy trails in winter and use roller skis on blast-marked asphalt in warmer months, their sessions punctuated by the sporadic buzz of drones and subsequent explosions as they are shot from the sky.
Mykola Vorchak, a 67-year-old coach, told The Associated Press in an interview on October 31 that adaptation has become second nature. "We have adapted so well — even the children — that sometimes we don’t even react," he said, acknowledging this hardening defiance of safety rules is a psychological transformation wrought by conflict.
A Legacy of Glory, Reduced to Ashes
This centre is the hallowed ground where Valentyna Tserbe-Nesina, then a teenager, honed the skills that would win her a bronze medal in biathlon at the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer. Visiting the devastated site in 2022, the 56-year-old champion was horrified. "I went inside, up to my old room on the second floor. It was gone — no windows, nothing," she recounted, showing shelves in her apartment lined with global sporting souvenirs. The trophies left at the base were completely burned.
Today, Tserbe-Nesina volunteers organising funerals for fallen soldiers in her hometown, while her retired military officer husband has returned to the front. They meet only about once a year during his brief leave.
Sport as an Act of Defiance
For current athletes, training here is a potent political statement. Khrystyna Dmytrenko, 26, who completed a tour in a territorial defence unit in 2022, now prepares alongside the youngsters to represent Ukraine at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics starting on February 6, 2026. "Sports can show that Ukraine is strong," Dmytrenko asserted in an interview beside the shooting range, where athletes now aim laser rifles at electronic targets.
The upcoming Games carry added tension. While the International Olympic Committee has imposed bans and restrictions on Russian athletes following the invasion, a small, vetted group will compete without national symbols in individual events. This sets the stage for potential face-offs between Ukrainian and Russian competitors in skating and skiing disciplines.
Standing beside the destroyed dormitories, former Olympic biathlete Nina Lemesh, 52, sees the unbroken spirit. She points out that some who first picked up rifles here during the war have become international champions in their age groups. "Fortunately, Ukrainians remain here. They always will," she said. "This is the next generation of Olympians."
AP writer Derek Gatopoulos in Kyiv contributed to this report.
