Photo credit: mos.ru (CC BY 4.0)
The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine lifted the ban on the participation of athletes in the same competitions as Russian and Belarusian athletes. Prior to this, fencer from Ukraine Olga Harlan refused to shake hands with Russian Anna Smirnova after the duel meet. Because of this, the Ukrainian was counted as defeated, according to Gazeta.ru.
Moscow believes that Kyiv backed down with the anti-Russian ban in sports because of possible sanctions against Ukrainian athletes. The restriction has been in effect since April of this year.
According to a new document from the Ukrainian ministry, athletes from this country are prohibited from participating in competitions in which Russian and Belarusian athletes compete under national flags.
Practice shows that, despite the lifting of the ban, the strange behavior of Ukrainian athletes in relation to Russians has not yet come to naught. At the World Fencing Championship, one of the Ukrainian participants refused to fight with the Russian.
The Minister of Sports of Russia Oleg Matytsin noted that invitations to participate in the World Friendship Games will be sent to Ukrainian athletes. They will take place in Moscow and Yekaterinburg next September.
Russkiy Mir
