You're reading: Top 10 latest triumphs of Ukraine

Even though Ukrainian soccer team is preparing to leave the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament after being defeated by Germany and Northern Ireland, there were plenty of reasons to be proud of Ukraine and Ukrainians in the past couple months.

Eurovision victory

Crimean
Tatar singer Jamala won the Eurovision Song Contest on May 14 in Sweden. Jamala
performed “1944,” a song about the tragic deportation of the Crimean Tatars
from Crimea in 1944, ordered by Soviet authorities and experienced by Jamala’s
family, too. It is the second time that Ukraine wins the contest, after
Ruslana’s “Wild Dances” brought Ukraine victory in 2003. The win means that
Eurovision will take place in Ukraine next year.

Jamala performs her song “1944” at the Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm on May 14.

Fencing World Cup

Ukrainian
sabre fencer
Olga Kharlan won gold at the Foshan World Cup in China. She won
against American Mariel Zagunis with a score of 15:13 in the semifinals, and
defeated Djien Kim from South Korea with a score of 15:11 in the final match.
Just two weeks later, Kharlan won Moscow Sabre 2016 tournament. Kharlan is a
2008 Olympic champion and has won world championships four times. She will
compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, which start on Aug. 5.


Ukrainian Olga Kharlan defeats Russian sabre fencer Julia Gavrilova at the Moscow Sabre 2016 tournament.

Synchronized swimming trophy

On May 13, Ukrainian
swimmers won the LEN European Aquatics Championship 2016 in London.
A team of
eight Ukrainian synchronized swimmers – Anna Voloshyna, Lolita Ananasova, Daria
Iushko, Olena Grechykhina, Anastasiya Savchuk, Kseniya Sydorenko, Oleksandrar Sabada
and Kateryna Sadurska – won gold medal in the free routine category. Before it,
the team won six silver medals.


The performance that brought the Ukrainian team victory at LEN European Aquatics Championship 2016.

Award at Cannes Film Festival

Ukrainians
don’t have a great Cannes record. But this time, Ukrainian director and
screenwriter Marysia Nikitiuk won the ScripTeast Award at Cannes Film Festival
for her script “When the Trees Fall.” She also got 10,000 euros to make it into
a movie.

An-225 Mriya makes first commercial flight

Ukrainian
An-225 Mriya cargo plane, constructed by Kyiv-based Antonov plant, is the world’s
biggest aircraft, officially recognized as such by the Guinness Book of Records
in 2004. The84-meter-long plane weighs 175 tons.

However,
the only existing An-225 hasn’t seen a market demand in the nearly 30 years of
its existence. But in May it was finally booked for its first delivery. The
Ukrainian plane brought a 117-ton generator from France to Australia. Thousands
gathered in Australian Perth airport to see the world’s biggest aircraft.

antonov

Ukrainian An-225 Mriya is the biggest aircraft ever built.

Breakdance champion

On May 14, the same day when Ukrainians cheered for Jamala at Eurovision, another Ukrainian had a victory of his own. Oleh Kuznetsov won the Breakdance World Cup Unbreakable Bboy Championship, held in Belgium, thus becoming the best breakdancer in the world. Kuznetsov is known in the breakdancing world as Kuzya.


Ukrainian Oleh Kuznetsov (wearing black) defeats a competitor in the Unbreakable Bboy Championship on May 14.

World Procurement Awards

Ukrainian electronic
procurement system ProZorro won the most prestigious prize in the field of
public procurements – the first prize at the World Procurement Awards 2016 in
the Public Sector nomination. The ceremony took place in London.


Deputy Economy Minister of Ukraine Maxym Nefyodov accepts an award for the e-procurement system ProZorro.

NASA award

A team of Ukrainians won the People’s Choice award from NASA’s Space Apps, an annual
hackathon that encourages the public around the world to get involved in
innovative research into space exploration and Earth-based problems. The
Ukrainians were awarded for their idea of Mars Hopper, an innovative
self-sustainable probe to explore the Red Planet. The competition attracted
1,287 projects.

graphic, infographic, mars hopper, mars

Makeup victory

Ukrainian
seld-taught makeup artist Julia Melnyk won the Next Level of Cosplay
competition and got a grant for studying at the most prestigious makeup school
in Hollywood, Cinema Makeup School. Her winning work was the makeup of a White
Walker, a mysterious creature from the “Game of Thrones” series.


A fantasy makeup transformation by Ukrainian makeup artist Julia Melnyk.

Boxing triumph

Ukrainian lightweight
boxer Vasyl Lomachenko won the WBO Junior Lightweight title on June 11 in a
fight with Puerto Rican boxer Roman Martinez. Lomachenko is a three-time world champion
among amateur boxers and has two Olympic gold medals.


Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko defeats Roman Martinez on June 11.