“Ukraine urges that gymnasts from the Russian Federation and Belarus are not allowed to participate in international competitions in the future. Aggressor athletes openly support war and participate in it.”, — write on: unn.ua
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Minister of Youth and Sports Matvyi Bidny, NOC President Vadym Gutzait and Head of the Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation Iryna Deryugina stated that athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus cannot participate in international competitions, even under neutral status, as long as Russia continues the war against Ukraine with the support of Belarusian regime.
Ukraine once again confirms its unchanged position in connection with the ongoing large-scale military aggression of the Russian Federation, supported by Belarus, against our country. We firmly believe that representatives of aggressor countries should be excluded from participating in any international sporting events, regardless of their status
It is emphasized that many Russian athletes who received the status of neutral openly support aggression or participated in propaganda activities. Among them are Lala Kramarenko, Daniel Marinov, Viktoriya Listunova, Nikita Nagorny and others.
For example, in September 2022, after the announcement of mobilization in Russia, Davyd Belyavskyi, champion of the 2019 European Games, three-time Olympic medalist and four-time world champion, said in an interview with a Russian propaganda resource that he was ready to leave gymnastics and go fight against Ukraine if will receive a summons. And Maxim Khodykin, a representative of the Russian gymnastics team, picked up a weapon and went to kill Ukrainians. For his crimes on the territory of Ukraine, the gymnast was awarded the medal of the Ministry of Defense of Russia “Participant of a special military operation”.
Ukraine demands that athletes associated with military structures or those who support the war remain suspended from international sports.
We will remind
Olympic champion Sturla Holm Legrade is collecting funds for Ukraine, and the IBU does not allow Russian and Serbian athletes as “neutral”.