Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has imposed sanctions on Russian athletes, including CSKA Moscow footballer Igor Akinfeev and figure skating choreographer Ilya Averbukh. The decree is published on the President’s website.
The document states that the restrictive measures against the athletes will be in effect for 50 years. The decree also provides for the freezing of assets, a ban on doing business in the country and acquiring real estate, a ban on entering Ukraine
In total, the new sanctions list includes 82 athletes, including:
gymnasts Artur Dalaloyan and Svetlana Khorkina; figure skaters Ivan Bukin, Nikita Katsalapov, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva and Dmitry Aliev; footballers Yuri Gazinsky, Veniamin Mandrykin and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov; skier Veronika Stepanova.
On the eve of the Ministry of Sports of Ukraine banned Ukrainian athletes from participating in competitions with Russians and Belarusian athletes. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) responded by saying that the Ukrainian government has no right to decide which athletes can participate in international competitions.
On the recommendation of the IOC, at the end of February last year, most sports organizations suspended the Russian and Belarusian teams on the recommendation of the IOC. At the beginning of 2023, the question of allowing representatives of these countries to compete under a neutral flag was raised.
The reason for this was the statement of the UN special rapporteurs on human rights, who were concerned about possible discrimination against athletes. However, the governments of more than 30 states disagreed with the admission of representatives from Russia and Belarus and also criticized the concept of their possible neutral status.
Read the Latest Ukraine War News on The Eastern Herald.
