- Russia’s boxing and fishing federations have publicly supported the invasion.
- A few Russian boxers attended a pro-war rally held in Moscow on Friday.
- Sergey Lisitsyn, Russian bowling coach, accused the West to condoning the act. “flourishing of Nazism in Ukraine.”
Officially, two Russian sporting federations backed the invasion in Ukraine. However, a large number of athletes from the country continue their support for Putin and the war.
Inside the Games reported the following:The Russian Boxing Federation supported the invasion A Friday Instagram postThe Russian army and President Vladimir Putin were supported by the strong declaration of support.
This statement was made after Putin had held a prowar rally at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium (Russia’s national stadium), on Friday.
The caption was posted by the RBF along with a few photos from the crowd. “Times when, united, we will be able to resist all threats and difficulties.”
“The boxing community took part in a festive concert in honor of the eighth anniversary of the annexation of the Republic of Crimea and in support of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation!
“All Russian boxers support Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and express their full confidence in him!
“Difficulties will pass. We can only overcome them together.
Maja Hitij/Getty Images
The Moscow rally was attended by Russian boxing athletes as well as several Olympic medalists. Alexander Bolshunov won three golds at Beijing Winter Games. Many of the athletes were seen sporting the pro-war uniforms. “Z”Russia adopted the symbol since the invasion.
Russia’s bowling federation supported the invasion as well, earlier in March. The president of the federation issued a strong statement supporting Putin and the “special military operation” — the euphemistic term being used in Russia to describe the war.
“We see that the special operation being carried out today on Ukrainian soil allows us to achieve our goals with minimal losses for our fraternal peoples,”A statement by President Sergey Lisitsyn, per Inside the Games
“Given the unprecedented external pressure from the West, which for eight years condoned the flourishing of Nazism in Ukraine, today we clearly understand that the special operation was just an excuse to replicate Russophobic sentiments and escalate the situation around Russia and everything Russian.”
The international sporting community has been attempting to distance itself from Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in February. They have cancelled events in Ukraine and banned Russian and Belarusian athletes competitions.
There were also steps taken to cancel the Russian Grand Prix of Formula One and move the Champions League final from St. Petersburg, Russia to Paris. While certain sports make it mandatory that Russian athletes compete under a neutral flag while others ban them completely, some other sports do not.