The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine and the Ministry of Youth and Sports have published new data in the "Champions of Terror" section of the War & Sanctions portal, revealing information about eight russian athletes and sports officials who openly support russia's war against Ukraine, participate in propaganda events, visit temporarily occupied territories, and yet remain part of the global sports community — still competing in international tournaments.

russia exploits international sports as a tool of "soft power" to promote its narratives abroad, justify its war crimes, and legitimize the occupation of Ukrainian territories. Today, together with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, we are exposing eight more russian "agents of influence," including:

• zaur uguev, abdulrashid sadulaev, and zaurbek sidakov — russian wrestlers who publicly supported the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and participated in a pro-kremlin rally at moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, yet were allowed to compete internationally across Europe in 2023–2025.
• angelina melnikova — a russian gymnast who won the primaries of the United russia party in April 2025 to run for the voronezh City Duma. She regularly participates in events organized for families of russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine and, despite this, received neutral athlete status from the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), enabling her to return to international competitions.
• pavel rozhkov — President of russia's Paralympic Committee, who consistently organizes propaganda tournaments involving russian occupiers and pushes initiatives to involve wounded russian soldiers in the Paralympic movement.

Such athletes and officials must be banned from the global sports community and barred from all international competitions, even under so-called "neutral" status.

The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine and the Ministry of Youth and Sports continue systematic efforts to block russia's propaganda voices worldwide.