The Ministry of Sports of Ukraine forbade the national teams to participate in competitions where Russians or Belarusians will participate

The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine has published an order prohibiting Ukrainian national teams from competing in tournaments where athletes from Russia or Belarus will participate.

From now on, all representatives of the national teams must boycott competitions in Olympic, non-Olympic and Paralympic sports, if Russians or Belarusians are present there.

The agency is going to monitor the participation of representatives of all-Ukrainian sports federations with national status in order to prevent them from participating in competitions involving Russian or Belarusian athletes.

• This order was adopted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports in order to implement the governmentʼs decision of March 31, when the Cabinet responded in this way to the updated recommendations of the International Olympic Committee regarding the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in competitions.
• 35 countries opposed the admission of Russians and Belarusians to international sports competitions due to the war in Ukraine.
• The head of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, supported the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Olympic Games under a neutral flag.