OFFICIALLY. Coaches of Ukrainian youth teams appointed for 2026

The Executive Board meeting of the Ukrainian Basketball Federation was held and the head coaches of Ukraine’s youth men’s teams who will serve in the summer of 2026 were approved.

The following men’s youth teams were appointed head coaches:

• Ukraine national team U-16 – Vladimir Reshetnik
• Ukraine national team U-18 – Oleg Shevchenko
• Ukraine national team U-20 – Dmitry Zabirchenko

Alexander Sabutsky became the acting head coach of the U-15 (boys born in 2011 and younger).

Ukraine men’s team U-20

Head Coach – Dmitry Zabirchenko

Dmitry Zabirchenko, who played in the Ukraine U-18 national team last year, will lead the U-20 men’s youth team in 2026. The team will compete in the Group B European Championship, which will be held in Bratislava (Slovakia) between 10-19 July.

Zabirchenko started his coaching career in 2017. He worked as the head coach of BC “Druzhkovka” (2017/18), BC “Ternopil” (2018-2022), BC “Budivelnyk” (2022-2023), and since 2023 he has been head of the BC “Kiev-Basket” team.

Achievements in his club career: Major League champion (2020), Super League champion (2023), Super League bronze medal (2024), Super League silver medal (2025).

He has significant experience in the Ukrainian national teams. He was on the coaching staff of the student team in 2017 and worked as an assistant in the U-20 youth team in 2019. As head coach, he led the U-18 (2021), U-20 (2023) and U-16 (2024) national teams.

In 2023, under his leadership, the Ukrainian U-20 youth team won the bronze medal at the European Championship in Group B.

Ukraine men’s team U-18

Head Coach – Oleg Shevchenko

Ukrainian youth men’s team U-18 will compete in the Group B European Championship, which will be held in Rijeka and Opatija (Croatia) between 27 July and 2 August.

Oleg Shevchenko started coaching at the YUG-Basket school in Odessa in 2006 and worked as a manager there for many years. Among his students is Rostislav Kabanov.

He joined the BIPA-Odessa technical staff in 2022 and then became the coach of the team he worked for in the Super League. He still continues his coaching activities in Spain.

In 2023, he took part in the technical staff of Dmitry Zabirchenko in the Ukraine U-20 youth team. He also works with Ukrainian youth teams in younger age categories.

In the summer of 2025, the Ukrainian U-16 student team led by Oleg Shevchenko took sixth place in Group B at the European Championship.

Ukraine men’s national team U-16

Head Coach – Vladimir Reshetnik

Ukraine U-16 men’s star team will participate in the European Championship in Group B on 6-15 August. The location of the tournament will be determined later.

Vladimir Reshetnik took his first steps into coaching in Shenzhen, China, where he worked for 4.5 years. After returning to Ukraine, he worked in the capital’s KSL and Kiev-Basket, and also coached the PushTeam team in the Major League.

As an assistant coach, he won a silver medal in the Women’s Ukrainian Cup and a silver medal in the Men’s Super League.

He has been training with the Ukrainian star team in this age category since last year, has held a number of training camps and participated in international tournaments.