At least 9 of the 33 Russian athletes who were allowed to compete at the Olympics in Paris as neutrals support the Russian Federationʼs war against Ukraine.
This is stated in the Babel investigation.
For example, road and track cyclist Tamara Dronova visited occupied Crimea many times, in particular in 2016 and 2019. She trained and competed there. She also worked in the Moscow division of the Dynamo Sports Association, where they train law enforcement officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB, the Foreign Intelligence Service, and the Russian Guard.
A classical wrestler from Ossetia Alan Ostaev, went to competitions in occupied Crimea, in particular to a tournament dedicated to the "reunification of Crimea with Russia." In 2023, he participated in the tournament in memory of Russian General Kutuzov, who commanded the "1st Army Corps” of the “DPR" and died on June 5, 2022, near Popasna in the Luhansk region. Another wrestler took part in the same tournament — Magomed Murtazaliev, who was also admitted to the Olympics.
In 2021, wrestler Nachyn Mongush served in the Russian army and was a member of the sports team of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. In November 2022, Mongush spoke to Tuva University students as part of the "Iʼm proud of heroes" propaganda project together with United Russia MP Eres Sat and a Russian occupier Chayan Chimba, who participated in the war.
Angela Bladtseva, who is engaged in jumping on a trampoline, took part in the championship in Krasnodar in May 2023, where she performed against the background of the “Z” symbol, the inscription "We donʼt abandon our own!" and other propaganda posters.
In 2024, wrestlers Arslan Bagaev and Elizaveta Petlyakova took part in the Russian tournament "Ivan Yarygin Cup", where the Russian occupiers were invited as guests. Both athletes were awarded "veterans of the SMO" [special military operation].
In March 2022, wrestler Abdulla Kurbanov took part in a tournament dedicated to the Russian occupier Nurmagomed Hajimagomedov, who died in the war in Ukraine.
Cyclist Alyona Ivanchenko visited occupied Crimea in 2019, and performed in occupied Sevastopol in 2020.
- Despite the protests of Ukraine and its allies, athletes from Russia and Belarus will be at the Olympics — officially they will be called "individual neutral athletes." Any symbols of these two countries are prohibited. In total, 54 quotas were allocated for Russian athletes at the Olympics, 28 for Belarusian ones.
- In mid-June, some "neutral" athletes from Russia and Belarus were not allowed to compete.
- The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine (NOC) and the Ministry of Sports have already published recommendations for Ukrainian athletes regarding contact with athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus at the Olympics.