Russian athletes who have visited the occupied territories of Ukraine continue to participate in international competitions under a neutral status. This was reported by UNN with reference to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Details
On the War&Sanctions portal, in the "Champions of Terror" section, information has been published about ten Russian and Belarusian athletes who visit the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, participate in propaganda events, and despite this, receive neutral status and continue to participate in international competitions.
Among them are the following names:
- Elena Kirillova (Nadel) - the so-called acting "Minister of Sports of the Kherson region", curator of the federal program of joint sports camps and training of athletes from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine with Russian athletes at the federal center "Krymsky";
- Alsu Minazova - Russian slalom skier, participant in propaganda actions involving representatives of the Russian authorities;
- Alina Harnasko - Belarusian rhythmic gymnast, participant in the propaganda festival "Time of Our Victories", held on the instructions of the self-proclaimed president of Belarus Lukashenka;
- Yana Sotieva, Regina Shaidullina, and Anastasia Romanova - Russian weightlifters who participated in training camps in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and were announced as part of the Russian national team for the 2025 World Weightlifting Championships.
Recall
Recently, the International Paralympic Committee decided to lift the partial suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes, introduced after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In response, Ukraine called this decision shameful and stated that the International Paralympic Committee "had lost the last remnants of conscience."