The European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) has published the extended roster of the Ukrainian national team for EuroVolley 2026. The list of head coach Raul Lozano includes 30 volleyball players, from whom the final squad for the championship will be determined. According to information from Ukraine, the published roster is more technical in nature. It is expected that about 18-20 players will gather at the preparatory camp in Estonia, who will subsequently form the final squad of 14 players for the European Championship. The core of the team will almost certainly be built from the volleyball players who represented Ukraine in the Final Eight of the Nations League in 2026, for which the team qualified for the first time. Ukraine finished its participation in the Nations League in seventh place. In the quarterfinals, Raul Lozano's team lost to future champions Poland with a score of 1:3 (22:25, 25:22, 20:25, 17:25).

Extended roster of Ukraine for EuroVolley 2026
Setters:Yurii Synytsia, Dmytro Dolgopolov, Vitalii Shchitkov, Serhii Yevstratov.
Opposites:Dmytro Shapoval, Maksym Tonkonog, Danylo Uryvkin.
Outside Hitters:Eduard Shterik, Yevhen Kisiliuk, Oleksandr Nalozhnyi, Dmytro Yanchuk, Vasyl Tupchii, Illia Kovaliov, Oleh Plotnytskyi, Tymofii Poluian, Yevhen Boiko, Mykyta Luban.
Middle blockers:Maksym Drozd, Mykola Kuts, Yurii Semeniuk, Vladyslav Shchurov, Andrii Cheleniak, Artem Riazanov, Ruslan Chervatiuk, Denys Veletskyi, Valerii Todua, Oleksandr Boiko.
Liberos:Mykola Dzhul, Oleksandr Boiko, Yaroslav Pampushko.
The extended roster is important because, according to CEV regulations, in case of injury during the European Championship, each team is allowed only one forced substitution, and the replacement must be chosen from the volleyball players pre-registered in the extended list. The substituted player is not allowed to return to the squad until the end of the tournament.
The core of the Ukrainian national team is already emerging. Judging by the squad with which Ukraine participated in the Final Eight of the Nations League, major changes are unlikely for the European Championship.
Ukraine's squad for the VNL 2026 Final Eight:
Setters:Yurii Synytsia, Vitalii Shchitkov.
Opposites:Vasyl Tupchii, Maksym Tonkonog.
Outside Hitters:Dmytro Yanchuk, Oleh Plotnytskyi, Illia Kovalov, Yevhen Boiko, Yevhen Kisiliuk.
Middle blockers:Yurii Semeniuk (captain), Maksym Drozd, Vladyslav Shchurov, Denys Veletskyi.
Liberos:Yaroslav Pampushko.
It seems that the core of the Ukrainian national team for EuroVolley 2026 will be composed of the volleyball players who played in the Final Eight of the Nations League. After the training camp in Estonia, Raul Lozano will determine the final squad of 14 players for the championship.
Ukraine will open its participation in EuroVolley 2026 on September 10 with a match against Israel in Sofia. A day later, the team will face North Macedonia, on September 12 they will meet Bulgaria, on September 14 they will play Portugal, and the last match in the group stage is on September 15 against Poland. The clash between Bulgaria and Ukraine is expected to be one of the most intriguing in Group B of the European Championship.

photos: Nikolay Varadinov