No Neutral Ground: Why “neutral” athletes from Russia and Belarus are not as “neutral” as they seem
- DeTalks
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Authors: Andrii Nikitonok, Viktoriia Hvozd, українська версія тут.
A DeTalks investigation into young athletes from Russia and Belarus. Part 2.
“It’s a slap in the face”, said sabre fencer Olga Kharlan, Ukraine’s most titled Olympic athlete, commenting on the International Fencing Federation’s (FIE) decision regarding “neutral” athletes.
Such an emotional statement was not made without reason: three weeks before the 2025 World Championships, the FIE permitted Russian Army Major Sofia Velikaya, Lieutenant Yana Yegoryan, and Ensign Olga Nikitina, who are under sanctions, to compete in the event. The FIE also streamlined the process for verifying their “neutrality”.
Sofia Velika, Olga Nikitina, and Yana Yegoryan with Security Council Secretary and Russian President Sergei Shoigu and Vladimir Putin, respectively. Photo: instagram.com/egorianiana, cska.ru, x.com/Slidstvo_info
Earlier this year, the International Fencing Federation (FIE) permitted “neutral” athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete in team tournaments, despite recommendations from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) against this decision. As a result, athletes participated under the FIE's flags in both the Cadet and Junior World Championships held in Wuxi, China, and the 2025 European Championships in Genoa, Italy.
The youth online media “DeTalks” continues its special project titled “No Neutral Ground”, which aims to raise awareness about the participation of Russians and Belarusians in international sports. The project seeks to illustrate why athletes who have not severed ties with the aggressor nations cannot truly be considered “neutral”. In the first part of the investigation, the editorial team focused on athletes competing under national symbols. In this phase, DeTalks exposes those athletes who conceal their affiliations behind claims of neutrality.
Why “neutral” athletes from Russia and Belarus are not apolitical
In the previous part of the investigation, the editorial team showed what is “wrong” with young athletes from Russia and Belarus, and why their participation in competitions is not “apolitical”. Now let us look at what “neutral status” really means and why any ties with aggressor countries make such a concept impossible.
So let us review the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) policy regarding Russian and Belarusian athletes since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
January 28, 2022: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announces an Olympic truce one week before the start of the Winter Games in Beijing. This truce is set to last until March 20, which is the week after the Paralympics, and is in accordance with a UN resolution supported earlier by all 193 member states, including Russia and Belarus.
February 24, 2022: Russia, with the support of Belarus, launches a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, thereby violating the truce. The IOC "strongly condemns" these actions and calls on all international federations to cancel competitions planned in these countries. They also recommend not using the flags and anthems of Russia and Belarus in events where the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) sanctions do not apply.
However, all these statements from the IOC, including subsequent ones, are merely recommendations. The final decisions regarding the participation of “neutral” athletes rest with the international federations of individual sports. The only exceptions are events organised under the auspices of the IOC, such as the Olympic Games.
February 28, 2022: The IOC advises suspending Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions. If suspension is not feasible for logistical reasons, it permits their participation only under a neutral status, without flags and anthems.
January 25, 2023: The IOC effectively paves the way for athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports to return to the international arena. These athletes can compete as “neutral” as long as they do not support the war, comply with anti-doping rules, and pass individual checks.
March 28, 2023: The IOC reaffirms sanctions against Russia and Belarus, stating that their athletes can only compete without national symbols and not as part of teams.
December 8, 2023: The IOC officially allows “individual neutral athletes” to participate in the 2024 Olympics in individual sports. Athletes who support aggression against Ukraine or have contracts with the armed forces or other security forces of Russia and Belarus are prohibited from participating.
July 26, 2024: The 2024 Summer Olympics begin in Paris, featuring 32 representatives from the “Individual Neutral Athletes” team.
After the 2024 Olympics, many international organisations began more actively admitting Russian and Belarusian athletes as “neutral”. Although each association has different verification processes, most share common guidelines, such as the absence of national flags and anthems and adherence to anti-doping rules.
Additionally, athletes are prohibited from publicly supporting the war in the media and on social networks, participating in pro-war demonstrations, or displaying symbols that endorse aggression. Instead, they must sign a declaration supporting the IOC's peace mission.
Despite meeting these formal requirements, athletes who live and train in Russia or Belarus continue to pay taxes there, utilise state infrastructure, and work with coaches often connected to the regime that supports aggression. This situation makes them part of the economy and propaganda of the aggressor country, undermining their categorisation as “neutral”. Meanwhile, Ukrainian athletes train in bomb shelters and endure sleepless nights due to air raid alarms.
Fencing
Back in March 2023, the International Fencing Federation (FIE) permitted athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete as “neutral” athletes. When the Ukrainian Fencing Federation filed a motion to exclude Russian athletes from competition, the FIE disciplinary tribunal chose not to consider it. As a result, the Ukrainian Fencing Federation appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Now, let us turn our attention to the Cadet and Junior World Championships, which took place in Wuxi from April 7 to 15. During the championships, Ukrainian athletes faced “neutral” opponents in eight individual matches, losing seven of them. In the team épée competition, Ukraine was paired with the “AIN” team in the first round and won against the athletes competing under the FIE flag, with a score of 45 to 41.
So let us take a look at some of the top performers from the “neutral” team. For instance, world champion in individual sabre, Alexandra Mikhailova, spoke to the Russian publication Sovetsky Sport about her preparations for the competition in Wuxi.
“We are holding training camps until March 21. After that, we will fly to Vladivostok for selection, undergo acclimatisation there, and then travel to the world championship. Overall, there are no complications with the documents, as our administration always takes care of everything. Russia has one of the strongest teams in the world, and I hope everything goes well".
Additionally, Alexandra occasionally posts on her social media accounts wearing a uniform with the double-headed eagle emblem, which is prohibited for public display by “neutral” athletes. A month before the world championship in China, Alexandra attended a Russian fencing tournament, where she commented on the “incredibly high level of competition, thanks to the outstanding efforts of the Russian Fencing Federation and Moscow sports”.
Pavel Graudyn secured fifth place in the individual sabre tournament just ahead of the All-Russian Junior Championships and the Junior European Championships. In an interview with the Russian Fencing Federation, he expressed his gratitude to his coach, Katerina Koptylova, and his Olympic reserve school, "MD FSO". Notably, this school is a state institution led by Vitaly Gordeev, a reserve colonel in the Russian Armed Forces and a graduate of the Russian Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation.
Pavel Graudyn at the fencing championship in Russia and as part of the “neutral team” at the 2025 European Championship. Photo: screenshot from instagram.com/graudyn.pv
Ukrainian athlete Maxim Perchuk, who won a bronze medal at the 2025 Junior World Championships in épée, did not take a joint photo on the podium with Nikita Gorin, an athlete competing under a neutral flag. Russian media reported on Gorin's bronze achievement, stating, “épée fencer Gorin won bronze at the Junior World Championships in China”, and noted that “Russian athletes participated in the tournament under the flag of the International Fencing Federation”. Gorin trains under the guidance of his father at Moscow Sports School No. 3, which is operated by the Moscow Department of Sports.
Diving
In March 2022, in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, FINA (now known as World Aquatics) suspended athletes from the aggressor countries from participating in international competitions. However, in September 2023, the federation reinstated these athletes as neutral competitors, allowing them to participate as long as they did not compete under their countries' flags. By November 2024, the rules changed further, enabling them to compete not only in individual events but also in team events, including synchronised diving.
For example, at the 2025 European Junior Diving Championships in Athens, a team of 20 neutral athletes won the most medals (17) and secured second place in the overall medal standings, just behind Ukraine.
Margarita Kuvshinova, the junior European champion in platform diving and silver medalist in 1-meter springboard diving for the 14–15 age category, won a silver medal at the Russian Championships in Kaluga two months before the continental championships. She trains at the Penza Olympic Reserve Sports School, established by the Penza Regional Government and subordinate to the regional Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports, which, in turn, reports to the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation.
Similarly, Alexandra Kedrina, the European champion in platform diving in the 16–18 age category, won the Russian Cup in synchronised diving back in February. Her participation on the international stage became possible after the expansion of the list of neutral athletes by World Aquatics. Since then, Kedrina has competed in World Cup events among adults, including stages held in Mexico and China. Furthermore, the website of the Russian Diving Federation openly referred to her as a “Russian athlete”. In April, after gaining neutral status, Alexandra was awarded the title of “Master of Sports of Russia”.
Tennis
Unlike many other sports, tennis organisations did not object from the outset to athletes from Russia and Belarus participating as “neutral” in individual tournaments. Moreover, in 2022, when the organisers of Wimbledon — one of the four Grand Slam tournaments — decided not to admit athletes from aggressor countries, the WTA (Women's Tennis Association) and the ATP (Men's Tennis Tour) publicly criticised this ban, emphasising that “athletes should not be held responsible for decisions made by their governments”.
Thus, in 2023, “neutral” tennis players returned to the courts of Wimbledon. Although they competed without national symbols, in 2025, 18 representatives of Russia and Belarus played in the singles categories of Wimbledon.
Among them was 18-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva, the youngest tennis player in the current WTA top 80 world rankings. In March, at the tournament in Indian Wells, after Elina Svitolina's defeat by the Russian in the quarterfinals, the Ukrainian player did not shake her opponent's hand, which caused a wave of outrage in the Russian media. At the same time, Elina had previously stated clearly that she would not do so while the war in Ukraine continued.
“I don't know why people don't understand this. I believe this is the right thing to do. I have said many times that until Russian troops leave Ukraine, and we regain our territories, we will not shake hands with each other. This is my clear statement”, Svitolina said at a press conference during Wimbledon 2023.
Mirra Andreeva has never publicly condemned the war in Ukraine. Moreover, commenting in 2023 on rumours of a possible change of citizenship, the athlete assured that she does not plan to renounce her Russian passport.
“I was born in Russia and until the year before last lived between Krasnoyarsk, Sochi, and Moscow. Given my tennis schedule, my training is now mainly organised in Cannes, [and] I do not plan to change my citizenship. I am flying home to Krasnoyarsk for the holidays”, Andreeva said in August 2023.
DanceSport
Dancesport should not be overlooked, as it is traditionally represented at the World Games — a multi-sport event for non-Olympic sports — and made its debut with breaking in the 2024 Olympic Games program.
The World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) has consistently adhered to the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) recommendations regarding the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus. Following a resolution in 2022, the WDSF suspended athletes and judges from these countries from participating in international tournaments, including the 2022 World Games. However, in June 2023, the federation began considering the return of athletes from Russia and Belarus as “neutral” competitors. By August, they decided to allow their participation.
At the 2024 World Championships Youth Latin, a couple with dancers from Russia and Belarus, Yegor Khamko and Sofia Cherepanova, reached the semifinals. Interestingly, they were not initially included in the starting list published by the WDSF before the tournament; instead, they were added on the day of the competition as the last of the 68 participants.
The history of their performances can be easily traced on their joint Instagram page, particularly highlighting their club, "STARLIGHT". Its coach, Ruslan Aidaev, along with his couples, regularly participates in tournaments organised by the Russian Dance Union, often accompanied by openly propagandistic rhetoric. Among the most recent events was the "Kremlin Cup — Pride of Russia", which featured notable attendees such as Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov, and First Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Alexander Zhukov.
Additionally, Yegor Khamko and Sofia Cherepanova have competed in other events within aggressor countries, including the Belarusian Championship, tournaments by the Russian Dance Union, the Association Cup, and the Russian Open Championship. The couple frequently shares videos from their training sessions in Russia on social media, further confirming that they are training and residing in that country.
Formula-4
As the fourth round of Formula 4 approaches in Mugello, Italy, it is significant to highlight the world of motorsport. This year, Kirill Kutsakov, a former karting partner of current Formula 1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, is competing in the championship for young drivers as a “neutral” driver. He represents the Maffi Racing team in F4 and has accumulated nine points after the first three stages of the series.
In addition to his participation in the Italian championship, Kutskov also races in Russia, competing for the Prima Racing team in the local Formula 4 championship. His father, who serves as his sports agent, has publicly expressed concerns that having a Russian passport is “hindering” his son's racing career.
"I spoke with Christian Horner when I started representing my son", the father stated. "He said, 'I know Kirill; we follow all the races. As soon as you get another passport, call us, and we'll take him to Red Bull".
Earlier, during the FIA gala ceremony, Kutskov was honoured with the title of best kart driver in the OK category by reigning champion Max Verstappen.
Although they are labelled as “neutral”, many athletes from Russia and Belarus are still closely connected to their countries' systems. They train in state clubs, hold national titles, and compete in domestic events that promote government agendas.
This connection raises serious questions about the true meaning of neutrality, making it seem more like a formality than an actual principle. Therefore, it might be worth considering whether athletes should be required to completely cut ties with any state institutions of the aggressor.
The DeTalks editorial team will continue its investigation in the upcoming parts of this "No Neutral Ground" special project.
