“I will return this year”: Oleh Plotnytskyi confirms his return to the national team
Former captain of Ukraine’s national volleyball team Oleh Plotnytskyi has announced his intention to play for the national team again.
The player discussed his decision in an interview with Italian media.
As a reminder, at the beginning of 2025, the volleyball player announced the end of his international career. This came amid prolonged disagreements with the leadership of the Ukrainian Volleyball Federation.
However, the situation began to change toward the end of last year. Plotnytskyi spoke with national team head coach Raul Lozano, after which he left open the possibility of returning. At that time, however, the two sides had not yet resolved all the organizational details.
Now, the outside hitter has confirmed that he will wear the national team jersey again in 2026. The player explained that his earlier decision to leave the national team was partly motivated by a desire to avoid the constant public pressure surrounding his absence from the squad.
According to Plotnytskyi, every time he declined a call-up, it triggered a wave of discussion that negatively affected both him and the team. That was why he decided to put an end to the situation at the time, allowing attention to focus on those who regularly represent the national team.
“I will return this year. Let’s put it this way… I said goodbye to the national team because it makes things easier for everyone. Every time they send me a call-up, I answer ‘no,’ and then the news starts saying that Plotnytskyi has failed to show up again, and so on. So I thought it would be better not to return at all, because it isn’t good for the team either. Right? You can talk about the players who are actually on the team, who play for the national side… You can talk about them instead of me,”Plotnytskyi said.
The return of one of the team’s leaders is expected at an important time: in 2026, Ukraine’s national team will play its second season in the Nations League and will also compete at the European Championship.
At club level, Plotnytskyi continues to demonstrate his high quality. With Italian club Perugia, he has already won the Club World Championship and helped the team reach the semifinals of both the Champions League and the Italian Championship. The Ukrainian also received an individual accolade, being named MVP of one of the decisive Champions League matches.
In the Champions League semifinal, scheduled for May 16 in Italy, Oleh Plotnytskyi and Perugia will face Polish club Projekt Warszawa, where Ukraine’s current national team captain, Yurii Semeniuk, has been playing for several years.
