The summer of 2024 was full of sporting events. In particular, from June 14 to July 14, the European Football Championship took place, the 2024 Olympic Games took place in Paris from July 28 to August 11, and the Paralympic Games lasted from August 28 to September 8, 2024.
At the end of February 2022, Russians and Belarusians were suspended from international sports competitions. However, some organizations have only formally prohibited athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in various events.
In 2023, Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), opposed the ban on Russians and Belarusians from participating in the 2024 Olympic Games, as it “does not correspond to the values and mission of the Olympic Charter”.
As a result, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), despite protests, admitted more than thirty Russian and Belarusian athletes to the 2024 Olympics in Paris in neutral status.
Therefore, The Ukrainian Review analyzes the role of sports in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Sport as a way of promoting propaganda in Russia
Russian athletes openly support the war against Ukraine: they participate in propaganda events, make speeches justifying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, and receive military ranks.
For example, the champion of the 2021 Summer Olympics, Russian gymnast Nikita Nagorny, has a military rank and heads the children’s and youth organization Yunarmiya, which reports to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. The bronze medalist of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, biathlete Eduard Latypov, belongs to the Central Sports Club of the Russian Army.
Olympiad skier Oleksandr Bolshunov, gymnasts Dina and Arina Averina, and Victoria Listunova spoke at a rally at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium in March 2022 on the occasion of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine.
In 2015, two-time Olympic champion and IOC representative from the Russian Federation Olena Isinbayeva received the army rank of major from Serhii Shoigu. In 2016, she joined the propaganda exercise for the Russian military in Syria.
Russia involves even minor athletes in propaganda activities. For example, among the students of the sports schools of the Central Army Sports Club, they organized a “Za Pobyedu!” (“For Victory!”) drawing campaign to support the Russians fighting against Ukraine.
That is, for Russia, sport is related to war.
Russia kills Ukrainian athletes
While Russian athletes support the war, Ukrainian athletes join the Armed Forces of Ukraine and die from Russian shelling.
According to Vadym Gutzait, Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, as of April 1, 2023, the Russians destroyed 263 sports facilities in Ukraine and killed 262 athletes.
Boxing coach Roman Zakharov and football coach Viktor Tkachuk were killed in Mariupol as a result of Russian shelling in the spring of 2022. On January 14, 2023, the honored boxing coach of Ukraine Mykhailo Korenovsky died as a result of a rocket attack on a high-rise building in Dnipro.
This is only a small part of Ukrainian athletes who could continue to compete in competitions, educate new generations of athletes, and develop their sports. The complete list of the dead can be viewed at the link.
Sport can never be outside of politics, because the flag of the state is raised only in two cases: when the president comes to a foreign country or when an athlete wins a competition. Sport is the promotion of the country, – says George Zantaraya, one of the world’s most decorated judokas and an employee of the SBU National Academy.
What Ukrainian athletes say
The Ukrainian Review was able to talk with Vlada and Maryna Aleksiivy, bronze medalists of the Olympic Games, and multiple world and European champions in artistic swimming.
How did the war affect your sports career and the careers of your colleagues?
First, the war had a very strong effect on all athletes morally. You can’t be focused on your goal and your achievements all the time – war is a distraction. It is also difficult for athletes when he is in another country and all his relatives are in Ukraine. You are very worried about them.
Secondly, during the war in Ukraine, almost all the sports grounds were destroyed, where all the athletes used to practice and train (including ourselves). Because of this, we are forced to move to another country in order to continue training.
Therefore, the war greatly affected the training of all athletes for the worse.
How can sports help raise awareness about the war in Ukraine?
First, these are international competitions. When a Ukrainian athlete takes first, second, third place… Or when he says something that people remember, all the mass media write about it. In this way, Ukraine gets into the world news.
Very negative, because why are they able to compete in international competitions? Our Ukrainian athletes protect our country. More than 50 Ukrainian athletes died and will never be able to compete again. And Russian athletes go to competitions and perform even under a neutral flag. This is very unfair, and I strongly disagree with it.
Why do Ukrainian athletes demand the complete elimination of Russian athletes from international competitions?
First, sport is about peace and a fair fight. And here we are not talking about her, because Ukrainian athletes compete in unreal conditions during the war in our country. And Russians are training normally, in calm circumstances. While we must issue every air alarm, interrupt our contest. This greatly affects the moral and physical condition of the athlete.
Boxing is also not outside of politics: what Oleksandr Usyk says
On the night of May 19, 2024 the Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk defeated the British Tyson Fury and became the absolute world champion in super heavyweight.
However, after the fight, Fury said that the referees favored Olexander because of the ongoing war in Ukraine. However, former heavyweight world champion Volodymyr Klitschko, former heavyweight world champion Lennox Lewis, WBC, WBA, WBO welterweight world champion Terence Crawford praised Oleksandr Usyk and congratulated him on his well-deserved victory.
20,000 spectators watched the fight directly in the hall, in total, at least 20 million people watched the fight through online broadcasts. This allowed Ukraine to enter the global arena, drawing attention to its problems and challenges in the conditions of war.
As a symbol of national pride, Oleksandr Usyk used the platform to talk about the challenges facing his country, boosting patriotic sentiment and demonstrating that sport can have a powerful political impact.
However, Ukrainian athletes not only publicly draw attention to the war in Ukraine, spread information and defend the country’s interests.
They have also been actively supporting Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion: they organize charity events, collect funds for the needs of the army and the population.
For example, boxer Oleksandr Usyk has donated more than 12 million hryvnias through the UNITED24 platform since December 2022. Part of the funds was directed to the restoration of a multi-story residential building in Irpin.
Usyk Foundation. Near 1 mln USD for Armed Forces, near 1,3 mln USD for other (humanitarian needs).
The Ukrainian Review told with Oleksandr Usyk, and he gave us this short but strong comment:
Many Ukrainian athletes, including boxers, took up arms to defend the country when the full-scale invasion began. Those who continue to compete on the international stage, also have a crucial mission.
Firstly, they play a key role in boosting the morale of Ukrainians. I always say: my victory is our common victory, while my defeat is mine alone. Every victory – whether on the battlefield, the football field, in the ring, or at the Olympics – lifts the spirits of the nation, especially in a time when the war brings so much devastating and terrible news.
Global sporting events also serve as a powerful platform to keep Ukraine and the war in the world’s consciousness. These sports achievements contribute to the image of a country that fights and wins. That’s why our athletes continue to train and prepare for competitions, despite the incredibly difficult circumstances – enduring shelling, using destroyed infrastructure, and facing constant worry for their loved ones.
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Ukrainian athletes continue to highlight the stark contrast between the principles of sport and the reality of the war they face. Whereas Russian athletes not only support, but also take an active part in the propaganda and aggression of their country. Ukrainian athletes are forced to fight for their country both on and off the battlefield.
Anya Ostymchuk
