Ukrainian war veteran Oleksandr Shvachka lost his left leg to Russian tank fire outside Kyiv . Three years on, the latest step in his physical and mental rehabilitation recently unfolded under a brilliant blue sky on a snow-covered mountain more than 5,000 miles (8,047 kilometers) away.
Shvachka, 38, was one of five Ukrainian veterans who came to the Pacific Northwest for ski lessons this month with Oregon Adaptive Sports, an organization working to make sports more accessible to people with disabilities.
On a recent day, he listened attentively to an instructor before launching himself down a slope at Hoodoo Ski Area in central Oregon, leaning on two hand-held “outriggers,” which resemble forearm crutches with short skis at the ends, for turns and balance as he picked up speed…