Oleksandr Matviychuk’s life now spans two very different worlds: hockey and war. In his Kyiv apartment, the former player looks back at a collection of medals from a long career that included years with Ukraine’s national team, a reminder of the sporting life he built before Russia’s full-scale invasion changed everything.
For much of his hockey career, Matviychuk played and coached alongside Russians, reflecting the close links that once existed across the sport in the region. That history gives his story added weight, as the invasion shattered old relationships and pushed him from the rink into military service.
Matviychuk is now recovering after he was nearly killed during a military mission last year. Since then, he has undergone a long and painful medical recovery, with plastic surgeons carrying out repeated operations to rebuild his face step by step.
His experience highlights the human cost of the war in Ukraine beyond the battlefield. A figure once known for representing his country in hockey is now facing a very different kind of endurance test, balancing memories of his career with the slow process of healing.
