Ukraine Urges Suspension of Russian Athletes From Paris Olympics Over War Support

Ukraine called for the Russian athlete Dinara Kudaeva to be suspended from participating in the Olympics in Paris, which will be held from July 26 to August 14. The athlete posted on Instagram a photo of her father who died in the war with the caption “You are my hero.”

The National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine stated that such a publication means support for Russia’s military actions against Ukraine, which contradicts the status of neutral athletes at the Olympics.

Dinara Kudaeva is a Russian athlete, a finalist of the Russian Championship and winner of the U23 World Wrestling Championships.

The NOC noted that Kudaeva published a post about her deceased father at the end of May 2024. “You are my hero,” she captioned the photo on Instagram.

Kudaeva also published a story in in which she called on Muslims to “make a dua” so that “the Almighty would reward him with the highest degree of heaven.”

Kudaeva’s Instagram account is now closed.

This post was supported by two other Russian wrestlers, Olga Khoroshavtseva and Natalia Malysheva, who liked the publication. Olga Khoroshavtseva also left a comment with words of support under Kudayeva’s post.

“Please note that these athletes support the war in Ukraine, the policy of the Russian dictator and do not meet the sufficient criteria for receiving the status of individual neutral athlete (AIN),” the NOC wrote regarding Dinara Kudayeva, Natalia Malysheva, Olga Khoroshavtseva and Iryna Kurachkina.

Iryna Kurachkina, who claims the status of an individual neutral athlete (AIN), obtained a license to participate in the Olympic Games. However, in 2023, Kurachkina participated in propaganda events together with Viktor Lukashenko, the son of Alexander Lukashenko. Viktor Lukashenko was sanctioned by Canada, EU, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain for supporting Russian aggression.

“We emphasize that the entire Russian and Belarusian sports community is an instrument of the state policy of the aggressor countries, and athletes with Russian and Belarusian citizenship cannot meet sufficient criteria for acquiring the status of the individual neutral athlete (AIN). This undermines the foundations of the international sports community and calls into question the fairness and impartiality of sports competitions,” The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine wrote.