The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) has announced the increasingly active return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international sports and cultural events, despite the ongoing war against Ukraine. The UWC emphasizes that under the guise of “neutral status,” international institutions are actually contributing to the normalization of aggressor states. Therefore, the UWC calls on international federations and governments to prevent the normalization of Russia’s war through sports and culture.
This was reported by Ukrainian World Congress.
The UWC emphasized that the world sports community is gradually moving away from the principled position it held after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. The UWC drew attention to the fact that a number of international federations are already allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in neutral status.
In particular, World Aquatics allows swimmers from Russia and Belarus under increasingly lax rules; the International Judo Federation insists on the return of Russian athletes, and tennis organizations continue to allow Russian and Belarusian players to compete in international tournaments. The UWC also recalls the decision of the International Fencing Federation, which voted to return athletes from Russia and Belarus, which forced Ukraine to boycott the competition.
“Moscow is instantly using these decisions as evidence that ‘the world has already moved on,’” the Congress notes.
The Ukrainian World Congress has called on international organizations not to relax restrictions on Russia and Belarus. The statement emphasizes that the return of Russian and Belarusian state symbols to international arenas – flags, anthems, colors, or any other state attributes – cannot be allowed.
The UWC also opposes the participation of teams with representatives from Russia or Belarus, the admission of athletes associated with military structures, as well as the participation of individuals who support the war, and the use of neutral status as a stage for Russia’s return to international sports.
The UWC recalled that while Russian athletes are returning to international arenas, the Ukrainian sports infrastructure continues to be destroyed.
The statement refers to the destroyed stadiums, swimming pools, sports schools and training centers, as well as athletes and coaches who died as a result of Russian aggression.
“Athletes are training to the sounds of air raid sirens, in conditions of power outages, missile strikes and forced displacement,” the UWC emphasized.
President of the Ukrainian World Congress Pavlo Grod stated that the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes directly fuels Kremlin propaganda.
“Every return, every restored symbol becomes material for the Kremlin’s propaganda machine,” Grod said. “Treating Russia as a ‘normal’ participant at a time when it is committing atrocities whitewashes the image of an aggressor state and undermines the values that international institutions have pledged to protect.”
The UWC called on international federations, governments, sponsors, athletes and civil society to prevent the normalization of Russia’s war through sports and culture. The Congress emphasized that sports and cultural institutions should not weaken, but rather strengthen, restrictions on aggressor states.
“Maintaining the ban on the participation of Russia and Belarus at the state level remains one of the most effective peaceful instruments available to the democratic world,” the UWC emphasized.
The statement also notes that history will judge who remained true to principles during the war and who allowed the aggressor to return to the international arena.
“Allowing Russia to return to world sports while bombs are still falling on Ukraine is not reconciliation, but moral capitulation,” the Ukrainian World Congress concluded.
Photo: Depositphotos
Author: Inna Mikhno