In February and April 2024, Rafał Milach went to the Olympic Training Center to document Ukrainian athletes preparing for one of the most pivotal events of their lives: canoeing.

A few weeks before Milach’s April visit, Russian missiles struck the Trypilska Power Plant, the primary energy source for the Kyiv, Cherkasy, and Zhytomyr regions, situated next to the lake where the canoeists were training. Through his images, Milach explores how the Ukrainian Olympic athletes adjusted to the challenges of wartime conditions amid a full-scale Russian invasion.