The Ukrainian sports ministry issued a decree on Friday prohibiting its national teams from competing in Olympic, non-Olympic, and Paralympic events that include competitors from Russia and Belarus.
The deputy sports minister of Ukraine, who authorized the action, told Reuters in an interview that it was a “bad decision” but preferable to the alternative.
After the International Olympic Committee (IOC) infuriated Kyiv by allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, some Ukrainian athletes criticized the decree.
“We are aware that… this is a bad judgment, but there are no good decisions in this situation. The minister, Matvii Bidnyi, said, “We are forced to choose between several poor options.”
“We urge other nations not to participate in these competitions,” he said.
Russia invaded Ukraine last February using Belarus as a staging ground.
The conflict, which is currently in its fourteenth month, has killed tens of thousands, destroyed cities, and displaced millions.
Ukraine warned its sports federations that they would lose their status if their athletes competed against Russians and Belarusians abroad.
Bidnyi verified, in response to a question, that the Ukrainian ban applied to athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports. He said it would not apply to tournaments where athletes represent themselves or their sports club instead of their nation.
The deputy minister stated that there would be no punishment for those who participated in these competitions. Other than the disaffiliation of the sport’s governing body from the Ukrainian government and the loss of public financing that would result.
Andriy Pavelko, the UAF director, told Reuters that the UAF will follow government orders.
“We are in a state of conflict. We cannot travel abroad without permission from the sports ministry,” Pavelko said, referring to the wartime prohibition on able-bodied males between the ages of 18 and 60 leaving the country without government authorization.
Pavelko said the organisation was asking the ministry which competitions were affected.
In June, the Ukrainian football team is scheduled to compete in the next round of European Championship qualifiers for 2024.
The European governing body UEFA has banned Russia from competitions as a result of the invasion. But Belarus is still competing, albeit in a separate qualifying group from Ukraine.
Bidnyi declined to provide a definitive answer when asked about Ukraine’s participation in the Euro 2024 qualifiers but stated that participation in qualifying groups where there was no chance of facing Russia or Belarus would “most likely” not violate the order.
Some Ukrainian athletes, including Olympic skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych, criticized the prohibition because it would destroy Ukrainian sports.
“If Ukrainian representatives are not present at competitions, then we will completely vacate international sports grounds and allow Russian/Belarusian representatives to promote their narratives and propaganda,” he wrote on Twitter.
Bidnyi called these statements “manipulation” and said Ukraine would send delegations to tournaments without competing.
“We will go, file protests, collect information, call attention to violations, and use any other means necessary to bring to the world’s attention the need to bar Russians from entering [competitions].”
The IOC sanctioned Russia and Belarus last year, but at the end of March, it recommended impartial competition. It also allowed them to qualify for the Summer Olympics in Paris the following year.
