I’m a Ukrainian World’s Strongest Man competitor – here’s how I train in a deadly war zone as Russian missiles target us
UKRAINIAN strongman Pavlo Kordiyaka is on a "mission" to represent his country.
A proud Ukrainian, Kordiyaka had a breakthrough year in 2022, reaching the World's Strongest Man, Europe's Strongest Man, and Giants Live Tour for the first time.
Now, aiming to one-up these accomplishments a year on, Kordiyaka has to prepare himself within an ongoing war zone.
ROLLING BLACKOUTS
A resident of Lviv, a city located close to Ukraine's border with Poland on the West, the 27-year-old told The U.S. Sun, how life has been affected on a day-to-day basis by what Russia calls its "special military operations."
Kordiyaka explained that with Russian forces targeting their power plants, the residents have their power supplies scheduled.
He said: "We have four hours when it is on, then four hours possible it's off. And four hours off.
"And the gym where I train, I have [a] generator also, but its also for lighting, so the warming is off, shower is cold water - only lighting.
"So just take some warm clothes, and let's go."
Despite these challenges, Kordiyaka explained how it is far worse for many, saying: "It's not a big problem here in Lviv because the battlefield guys have worse situations and we need to support them.
"Here in Lviv we don't have bombarding for artillery, we don't have Russian troopers here, they are only trying to bombard us by missiles, by rocket.
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"We had a lot of the time three, four air sirens. The last was maybe two days ago.
"They're trying to hit our power plants, our critical infrastructure buildings, and sometimes they're just hitting residential areas."
While he also brushed aside the difficulties he faces in his training regime as a result of their electrical limitations, explaining that "it's not so hard training without electricity, if you have a goal, if you have ambitions, and motivation, it's not a problem.
LOVED ONES ON THE FRONT LINE
Amidst the turmoil, the citizens of Ukraine continue to suffer unimaginable losses.
As reported by the in November, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, estimated that approximately 100,000 people from the wartorn country had either been injured or lost their lives.
While as of January 30, 7,110 civilians had lost their lives as of January 29 since Russia's invasion, per High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Kordiyaka too has loved ones fighting for their country, explaining that: "My wife's brother is now in the military, my father also in the military, a lot of my friends, my best friends, now in military [and] on [the] battlefield and get injured now.
"One guy, last week, died, was killed by Russians."
HIS MISSION
And with citizens across the nation looking to do their part during this conflict, Kordiyaka is taking it upon himself to represent his nation around the globe, ensuring that nobody forgets the atrocities.
He said that friends of his, who now find themselves on the battlefield, told him that his "mission, my job now, is to represent my country, represent Ukraine, in the World, and talking to the whole World [about] what happened.
"Because a lot of people maybe forgot what happened. And we need support, we need to talk about that, maybe some people [are] tired [of hearing] about the situation, about the war, but it's our reality. We live in war all day."
In order to continue representing his country on a global stage, Kordiyaka continues to train despite the limitations, pushing himself to reach that next level as a strongman.
WAR TAKES ITS TOLL
But, of course, life in a war zone has taken its toll on his mental health.
He admitted to suffering from sleeping problems, anxiety, and recent panic attacks.
However, training provides an outlet, a brief reprieve from the daily fear of what could be to come.
Kordiyaka explained: "My training, it's something that helps me stay in focus, change my mind. It's two or three hours when I don't think about war."
He later said that he believes everyone has "their own battlefield.
"For me, it's my training, my gym, my competition, and I'm trying to do my best all the time. This thing also pushes me up."
WORLDWIDE SUPPORT
But it's not just Kordiyaka's workouts that keep his spirits up, but the love and support he continually receives from fans worldwide.
Very active on social media, he frequently receives comments on his Instagram stories and posts, as well as direct messages with "words of support" - something he was clearly grateful for.
He said: "It's very helpful, and I can say its motivation for me, because these guys texting and spending [their] time to text with me, to watch my competition, to support me, they text comments, on my pages and Giants Live, World's Strongest Man, they're watching, they're buying pay per view, it also helps.
"It's important for me. I appreciate it."
And his appreciation for the wider world didn't stop there, emphasizing the importance of Western military support, saying that their armed forces are the only reason Ukraine continues to exist.
He said: "You know [the] Russian Army is the second [largest] army of the world.
"You know how the population of Russia and Ukraine, and the difference between the sizes of our countries is a huge difference.
"And the reason why we still talking, and the reason why I can represent Ukraine, is only our armed forces and support from the U.K., U.S.A, and Europe."
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Kordiyaka was keen to note how appreciative the Ukrainian people are of this support, noting: "Without weapons, we can't fight."
But for the man himself, the focus remains on fighting his fight, and doing what he can to use his battlefield to spread their word and support his nation.
