Ukraine's volleyball team in Nations League: Full schedule and broadcast details

Ukraine's historic debut in the Nations League

Ukraine's national team earned a historic opportunity to participate in the Volleyball Nations League for the first time. This became possible following the results of the 2024 season, as Ukraine ranked highest in the world among national teams that had not yet taken part in the tournament.

As of June 2025, Ukraine's men's team remains in the middle tier of the world elite. In the FIVB rankings, Ukraine holds the 14th position, behind only global volleyball powerhouses like Poland, France, the USA, Slovenia, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Germany, Argentina, and Serbia.

Ukrainian Volleyball Team (photo: facebook.com/ukraine.nvt)

Ukraine's debut match

Ukraine will play its debut match in the Nations League in Rio de Janeiro against the United States on June 11 at 20:00 Kyiv time.

The match marks a symbolic beginning of a new chapter in Ukrainian volleyball. It will be a major test for the team coached by Argentine manager Raúl Lozano.

Besides the Americans, Ukraine will face Cuba, Brazil, and Iran during the first tournament week.

In the following rounds, Ukraine will compete against top teams such as France, Japan, Italy, and Serbia. This will allow the players to measure their level against the world's best.

Ukraine's Nations League 2025 match schedule

First competition week, Pool 2

• June 11, 20:00 – Ukraine vs USA
• June 13, 23:30 – Ukraine vs Cuba
• June 14, 23:30 – Ukraine vs Brazil
• June 15, 19:30 – Ukraine vs Iran

Second competition week, Pool 4

• June 25, 12:30 – Ukraine vs France
• June 26, 18:30 – Turkey vs Ukraine
• June 27, 16:00 – Ukraine vs Japan
• June 29, 19:00 – Bulgaria vs Ukraine

Third competition week, Pool 8

• July 16, 14:00 – Ukraine vs Netherlands
• July 17, 17:30 – Ukraine vs Italy
• July 18, 17:30 – Ukraine vs Serbia
• July 20, 14:00 – Ukraine vs Canada

Where to watch Ukraine's matches

All Ukrainian men's national team matches in the 2025 Nations League will be broadcast live on the Suspilne Sport TV channel and online via the Suspilne streaming platform.

Matches will air at times convenient for Ukrainian viewers, in the afternoon and evening Kyiv time.

Competition format and tournament favorites

In the 2025 season, 18 national teams will compete in the Nations League. In the preliminary stage, each team will play 12 matches over three competition weeks.

The top eight teams—including China as the final round host—will advance to the Final Eight, which will be held from July 30 to August 3 in Ningbo.

France is the reigning champion, having won the tournament in both 2022 and 2024. Previous winners also include Brazil (2021) and Poland (2023).

Ukraine's national volleyball team (photo: facebook.com/ukraine.nvt)

Setback before the debut: Ukraine without Plotnytskyi

Just before their historic Nations League debut, Ukraine suffered a major personnel blow. In March 2025, longtime captain and team leader Oleh Plotnytskyi announced his retirement from the national team.

In 2023, Plotnytskyi was a key figure for Ukraine, participating in all four major tournaments of the season—the Golden EuroLeague, Challenger Cup, European Championship, and Olympic qualifiers. However, in 2024, he declined to rejoin the national team and officially retired from international play the following year.

Previously, we reported on the Ukrainian women's volleyball team, who sang the national anthem themselves after it was not played.