Ukraine Targets Russian Athletes for Sanctions: The List and Reasons

Sanctions on Russian Athletes

According to Главком: Ukraine is preparing to sanction Russian athletes who have publicly supported the war. Vladyslav Heraskevych, a leader of Ukraine's skeleton team, has submitted a petition to the Cabinet of Ministers, proposing a list of nine individuals whose actions justify such measures. The detailed grounds for these sanctions are published in the 'Champions of Terror' section of the War&Sanctions portal, run by Ukraine's Defense Intelligence. This move highlights Kyiv's strategy to hold individuals accountable beyond the battlefield, using legal and diplomatic tools.

The Athletes Facing Proposed Sanctions

The petition names the following individuals:

• Russian cross-country skier Daria Nepryaeva, who was permitted to compete by the International Olympic Committee. In the summer of 2022, she illegally visited annexed Crimea for training camps. She and other Russian skiers entered Ukrainian territory unlawfully, bypassing customs and border control.
• Angelina Melnikova, who in April 2025 won a primary election for the United Russia party to stand for the Voronezh City Council and has expressed support for the war on social media.
• Svetlana Gomboeva, who has repeatedly violated Ukrainian law by visiting annexed Crimea.
• Yana Egorian, an ambassador for the organization 'Healthy Fatherland,' which has been implicated in the abduction of Ukrainian children.
• Evgeny Baidusov, who violated Ukrainian law by visiting annexed Crimea.
• Imam Ganishev, who in 2023 visited the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia region and produced material supporting the war.
• Madina Taimazova, who participated in a propaganda event for young judokas from Donbas.
• Vladislav Larin, who in November 2022 called for support of Russian military personnel engaged in armed aggression against Ukraine.
• Maxim Khramtsov, who in April 2025 took part in the federal marathon 'Knowledge.First' and held a master class for children in temporarily occupied Donetsk.
• Fedor Chudinov, who in October 2024 visited several cities in the temporarily occupied Luhansk region, conducting propaganda sports events with Ukrainian children.

Vladyslav Heraskevych argues that Ukrainian sanctions would be a first step toward similar actions by partner nations. This would block these athletes from using international platforms to support the war against Ukraine. The initiative seeks to prevent global sports arenas from becoming stages for propaganda, a growing concern since Russia's full-scale invasion.

Imposing sanctions on Russian athletes who actively support aggression against Ukraine demonstrates increasing attention to the issue of international accountability for sports figures.

The key goal of such sanctions is not only punishment but also shaping an international consensus against using sports platforms for hostile propaganda. This could encourage other countries to take similar actions, increasing pressure on Russia amid the ongoing conflict.