Military amputees and veterans in Ukraine marked Independence Day by completing Iron Week, a grueling seven-day endurance event covering more than 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) across the country KYIV, Ukraine -- Military amputees and war veterans in Ukraine marked Independence Day on Monday by finishing a grueling endurance race that took them more than 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) around the country. At a lake outside the capital, Kyiv, athletes removed their prosthetics and pulled on wetsuits to complete on the closing day of the weeklong event, with some needing help to get into the water. Known as Iron Week, the competition is led by three-time Olympic triathlete Danylo Sapunov, who supports veterans as the country endures more than four years of war since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
There is no winner, and it does not matter who swims faster,” Sapunov said as athletes gathered at the lake. The amputee athletes completed seven consecutive days of competition — swimming, cycling and distance running — while traveling around Ukraine, including through war-torn cities in the east. Yevhenii Lakhnenko, a 46-year-old army serviceman who had his right arm and left leg amputated after being wounded last October, said swimming had been central to his recovery.
Only our people are capable of doing what we are doing.” Maksym Yuzviak, 35, a strike-drone operator who lost both legs in January 2025, said Ukraine’s independence rested on the actions of ordinary people.
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