Ukraine prohibits its athletes from participating in international competitions if athletes from Russia or Belarus participate there. This applies to Olympic, non-Olympic and Paralympic events, the Ministry of Sport announced by decree on Friday. It is reacting to the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus if they compete as neutrals.
In the event of violations, the national sports federations are threatened with the withdrawal of their official status. The participation of Russians and Belarusians in international competitions should be monitored by the associations themselves. “We know it’s a bad decision, but in this situation there is no good one. We were forced to choose between several bad decisions,” said Deputy Sport Minister Matvij Bidnji.
Some Ukrainian athletes, including Olympic skeleton pilot Vladislav Heraskevich, have criticized the ban, arguing it is destroying Ukrainian sport. “If Ukrainian representatives are not present at competitions, then we completely clear international sports grounds and give Russian-Belarusian representatives an opportunity to spread their narratives and propaganda,” he wrote on Twitter.
The ordinance was preceded by a cabinet decision at the end of March. Kiev had previously discussed a boycott of next year’s Summer Olympics in Paris if Russian or Belarusian athletes were allowed to attend.
A few weeks ago, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that athletes from Russia and Belarus should be allowed back into international competitions as neutral athletes under certain conditions. There was much criticism of the decision. Russia invaded Ukraine almost 14 months ago. Moscow-ally Belarus allows Russian attacks from its territory.
