A shameful decision by World Aquatics restores full participation rights for russian and Belarusian athletes across swimming, diving, artistic swimming, and water polo, lifting sanctions and allowing them to compete under their national flags and anthems, the embassy of Ukraine in Estonia writes.
This decision is nothing other than the drowning of all moral principles in the murky waters of normalisation of aggression and war crimes.
russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine has killed more than 650 Ukrainian athletes and coaches and destroyed over 800 sports facilities, leaving behind empty lanes, collapsed arenas, and hundreds of athletes who will never again compete.
While Ukraine’s athletes continue to train under the threat of russian missile and drone attacks, it is unacceptable for sports governing bodies to invite representatives of a state responsible for turning sports infrastructure into targets back under their own flags – the flags of the aggressor and its active supporter.
What is being restored here is not just participation – it is legitimacy. And by legitimising aggression, this decision undermines all values international sport is meant to represent.
There is no place for russia and Belarus in international sport as long as the aggression continues. Isolation and sanctions against their athletes must remain in place.
