Russia is launching even more missiles on Ukrainian cities and their residents’ heads.
A United Nations report on August 13 states that Russian strikes have reached the “highest level since March 2022,” when Russia began a large-scale military invasion of Ukraine. The report adds that “the number of child casualties in Ukraine has also reached the highest level since April 2022.”
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In recent weeks, Russia has carried out even more brutal attacks, launching a record number of drones at Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, targeting their civilian infrastructure, killing even more Ukrainians.
However, at the same time, the international sports world has been softening its stance towards Russian athletes.
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Despite economic, political, and institutional sanctions against Russia, more and more international sports federations are lifting restrictions on representatives of the aggressor country.
- Sports sanctions were lifted at the end of 2023 when the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee proposed that Russian and Belarusian athletes could compete under a neutral status at the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. This meant that upon approval of the “neutral athlete” status, representatives of both countries compete without the right to use their national flag, colors, and symbols.
- In September 2025, the International Paralympic Committee lifted sanctions, allowing Russian men and women to compete with full rights at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games, where representatives of the aggressor countries no longer needed neutral status.
- At the end of 2025, the international judo and sambo federations announced the decision to allow Russian athletes to compete with full rights, followed shortly by the European Gymnastics Federation – all organizations where Russians had significant influence in leadership structures for many years.
- This summer, the International Olympic Committee also softened its stance towards Russians, issuing recommendations to reinstate Russian and Belarusian athletes. This summer, the International Olympic Committee also softened its stance towards Russians, issuing recommendations to reinstate Russian and Belarusian athletes.
The decision-recommendation announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), of which the president of the Lithuanian National Olympic Committee Daina Gudzinevičiūtė is a member, to allow Russians to compete caused a snowball effect.
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