Ukraine demands that ISMF review the admission of a Russian female soldier to international competitions
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine appealed to the International Ski Mountaineering Federation with a demand to review the admission of Russian Varvara Prokhorova. According to open sources, the athlete is a servicewoman of the Russian Federation, which contradicts IOC recommendations.
Ukraine has called on the International Ski Mountaineering Federation to reconsider the decision on admitting a representative of the aggressor country to international competitions. According to open sources, the Russian athlete is a servicemember of the aggressor country's armed forces, UNN reports with reference to the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Details
Matviy Bidnyi, Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, Vadym Huttsait, President of the National Olympic Committee, and Hanna Yasinska, President of the Federation of Climbing and Mountaineering of Ukraine, signed an official letter to Regula Meier, President of the International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF).
The Ukrainian side called on the international sports community to verify the accuracy of information regarding the granting of neutral status to the athlete from the Russian Federation, Varvara Prokhorova. According to open sources, the Russian athlete is a servicemember of the aggressor country's armed forces.
This directly contradicts the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee of March 28, 2023, which exclude the possibility of participation in international competitions for athletes who are representatives of the armed forces or law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.
Furthermore, "neutral" athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports must refrain from any national symbols and support for the war against Ukraine.
"We emphasize that the entire Russian and Belarusian sports community is an instrument of the state policy of the aggressor countries, and all athletes with Russian and Belarusian citizenship cannot meet the sufficient criteria for obtaining the status of Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN). This undermines the foundations of the international sports community and casts doubt on fairness and impartiality in sports competitions," the letter states.
The authors of the appeal emphasized that Ukraine's position remains unwavering: as long as Russian troops, with the support of the Belarusian government, continue their brutal war against the Ukrainian people, a ban on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in any international competitions in any status must be imposed.
Recall
The Ukrainian government condemned the words of the future head of the IOC, Kirsty Coventry, who spoke in favor of the return of Russians to the Olympic Games. Ukraine calls for preventing Russians from participating in international competitions.
