The Horse That Helped Build a Bomb Shelter in Ukraine

“All horse owners will always cheer for their own horse,” says Maria, “but everyone is cheering for Slava Ukraini.” Maria Stetsyk is from Lviv, where she lives with her Danish husband Jakob. Last year, Maria’s mother survived a brutal Russian missile attack on her apartment in Lviv that left 10 people dead. She remembers the fear of seeing the building split in half by the missile, where life and death were separated by only a few meters. 

The attack was the largest on civilian infrastructure in the western city since the beginning of Russia’s full scale invasion. Until then, Lviv was widely considered a safe-haven for those fleeing the constant bombardment suffered by cities in the east of the country. 

Since the attack, which took place last July, Maria and her husband have used the winnings of their young racehorse for good. 

‘Slava Ukraini’ is a small horse, just 4 years old, but he’s been winning big on the international circuit since he started competing in 2022, the same year Russia launched its full scale invasion on Ukraine. The name “Slava Ukraini” translates to “Glory to Ukraine” and has become a battle cry amongst Ukrainians and has even made its way into everyday conversation as a greeting. “Slava Ukraini” one might say, to which the appropriate response is “Heroyam Slava” (Glory to our Heroes). 

The horse has lived up to his namesake. Much like Ukraine itself, ‘Slava Ukraini’ has defied the odds in the face of adversity. According to Maria, the foal was born with slight deformities in his legs that many thought would prevent him from ever competing, much less winning. But that has not been the case. Slava Ukraini has consistently ranked in the top 5 of most races he has competed in and last year took home 1st place at the Macallen Derby in Denmark. "He's probably a little bit green and will be better with a run,” his trainer Neils Peterson told Racing Post. 

The horse has become known even outside of Europe, reaching international acclaim. After gaining the attention of a Sheikh, Slava Ukraini was flown to Dubai to compete at the Meydan Racecourse last year. At first the owners denied the offer citing the immense transport cost of moving the horse, but the Sheikh himself funded the travel.

Building a bomb shelter 

All of ‘Slava Ukraini’’s travel and racing is not just for sport, the horse’s earnings have since been used to build a bomb shelter in the apartment complex where Maria’s mother lives and where a Russian missile left 10 dead last year. 

Before the attack, the basement was in shambles with crumbling walls, poor lighting and a hole in the ground that constituted a toilet. After the makeover, the room was transformed. The walls were refurbished with plaster and brick, soft lighting was placed throughout and a new bathroom was installed. There is a fresh water dispenser and furniture donated by a Danish furniture company (Maria’s husband is Danish but has lived in Ukraine since 2018). 

There is one other unmistakable feature of the shelter and that is its patron, ‘Slava Ukraini’. The shelter is decorated in the stallion's honor with pictures of the horse adorning the walls from news clippings of his wins, to an oil painting of the horse with his Argentinian jockey Carlos Lopez. These ode’s to ‘Slava Ukraini’ are heartwarming and create a hopeful atmosphere in a space that is usually associated with fear and anticipation. 

There is no doubt that the accomplishments of ‘Slava Ukraini’ have been a vehicle for good. In an interview with a Ukrainian TV network, one resident says that since the shelter’s makeover, residents have started to use the shelter much more than they had previously. A local coffee shop also donated one full day's earnings to the project. 

Creating adequate bomb shelters has been a priority for the Ukrainian government and grassroots community projects like this are a big help when it comes to making residents feel safe. Much like the horse’s namesake, his future is unclear but his trainer is confident, “He's a horse I expect something from.”