Ukrainian sports federations may lose their national status due to showing solidarity with Russian athletes, government representative in the Verkhovna Rada Taras Melnichuk wrote in his Telegram channel on September 8.

“Amendments have been made to the Regulations on granting national status to a sports federation on a competitive basis and depriving it of such status. A sports federation may be deprived of its national status if athletes, coaches, or other members of the sports federation commit actions that undermine the authority of Ukraine in the global sports movement by showing solidarity with representatives of Russia,” he wrote.

On August 13, the head of the Ukrainian Biathlon Federation, Ivan Krulko, called for the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian sports federations from international unions.

A number of international sports organizations introduced restrictions against Russia after the start of a special operation to protect civilians in Donbass, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022. Moscow and Minsk noted that such measures are the politicization of sports.