This statement was made on the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.
As of March 2025, 22 representatives of Ukrainian sports remain in captivity, and 11 are listed as missing.
In total, 725 sports facilities across Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed by Russian attacks, including 17 Olympic, Paralympic, and Deaflympic training bases.
“For decades, Russia has used sport as a tool of propaganda," the ministry wrote.
"10 of 15 Russian athletes who competed under a neutral flag at the 2024 Paris Olympics either publicly supported the war or were affiliated with the military.”
“Russian sport is not separate from the state — it is one of the tools used to justify and fuel aggression. Those who claim sport should be ‘outside politics’ must also admit that Russia uses sport as a political weapon.”
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, following the annexation of Crimea and the start of the war in the Donbas in 2014.