The Ukrainian men's volleyball team was defeated by the Slovenian team in the opening match at the 2023 European Championship. Wards of Ugis Krastins won the first set, but then lost in the next three. The fight ended with the defeat of Ukrainian volleyball players with a score of 1:3 (25:23, 22:25, 20:25, 20:25). Note that the Slovenian national team is the current vice-champion of Europe and the semi-finalist of the World Cup. It was the Slovenes that the Ukrainians lost in the historic quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup. The next match at the continental championship, the Ukrainian team will play on Thursday, August 31, against Croatia.

The Blue-Yellows will also face Bulgaria (September 2), Finland (September 4) and Spain (September 5) in the group stage.. The European Men's Volleyball Championship will last until September 16 in Italy, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Israel. Ukrainians play their group stage matches in Varna, Bulgaria. The top four teams from the six teams in each group will advance to the playoffs.. Earlier it was reported that the women's volleyball team of Ukraine dramatically flew out of the European Championship-2023.