The War & Sanctions portal has published another list of russian athletes, cyber athletes, and sports officials who support the criminal policy of the aggressor state, collect aid for the occupation forces in Ukraine, but remain members of the global sports community and even serve on the governing bodies of international federations.
Among them:
pavel bureis a russian hockey player and a friend of Putin. He has repeatedly supported putin in the so-called elections and played hockey with him to promote the cult of the russian dictator. The proximity to the war criminal in the kremlin does not prevent him from being a member of the Council of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
magomed kadyrov is ramzan kadyrov's uncle, the so-called deputy minister of agriculture in Chechnya and organizer of weightlifting tournaments.
mariana naumova is a russian powerlifting champion and a putin fan. She traveled to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine as a “military correspondent” after completing courses in the so-called Wagner PMC. As a teenager, having received the unofficial title of “the strongest girl on the planet,” Naumova used her popularity to promote russia abroad, including during trips to the DPRK, Germany, and Moldova. The kremlin's propaganda labeled Naumova's activities as “children's diplomacy.”
dmitry smit is the co-founder and president of the russian Computer Sports (FKS) federation, an organizer, and the chief judge of the World Cyber Games eSports tournament. Under smit's leadership, the FKS has created special military companies for esports players who can join the russian armed forces as operators of drones and other technological combat systems. dmitry smit is responsible for the FCC's interaction with the russian authorities and represents russia in the International Esports Federation (IESF).
“Cybersports” are a base for recruiting operators of unmanned platforms and other sophisticated weapons systems, recruiting cyber terrorists and cyber criminals who, under the control of russian special services, carry out cyber attacks against Ukraine and other countries.
Along with dmitry smit, cyber athletes yaroslav kuznetsov, ivan moskalenko, and FCC official emin antonian, who is associated with russian oligarch alisher usmanov, are also involved in supporting russia's criminal war against Ukraine. By the way, usmanov has already returned to the post of president of the International Fencing Federation.
The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, the National Security and Defense Council's Center for Countering Disinformation, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine once again call for the suspension of russian athletes from international competitions, including those under a neutral flag, the expulsion of russians from international sports organizations, and the termination of any cooperation with them.