Foreign Minister Sybiha calls for Russian athlete travel ban as Moscow's ice hockey return risks forcing Ukraine out

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha railed against an Oct. 30 decision from the world's top sports court (CAS) ordering Russia's return to ice hockey tournaments, which the chair of Sweden's ice hockey association warned risks ousting the world cup's last qualifying country — Ukraine.

"By letting Russian hockey back, CAS is staining the ice with Ukrainian blood," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on social media on Nov. 1"

Two days before, the CAS overruled the world ice hockey federation's (IIHF) decision to exclude Russian athletes, prompting condemnation from several countries with top-tier ice hockey teams.

"From the Swedish side, we have had, and still have, a clear opinion that ... Russia cannot participate," said Anders Larsson, chair of Sweden's Ice Hockey Association, in an interview with Sweden's Aftonbladet newspaper on Oct. 30.

But Larsson explained that the IIHF, on which he sits, has no choice following CAS' ruling.

"This is how sports regulatons work, and we have to follow it. It feels anything but good," Larsson said.

Russia's return also risks affecting Ukraine because, as Larsson explains, the IIHF had agreed that "the day they (Russia) return, whenever it is, they will return to the level they were at," which for men's ice hockey was the top group.

"We have to look at how it works when the World Cup consists of a certain number of teams, and a number of matches and television rights... (but) Ukraine was the last team to qualify up," Larsson said.

Larsson added that technical decisions about how to practically implement CAS' decision to include Russia will only be taken in the next week.

Sybiha called on "the international sporting community and all our partners to take a firm stand against Russia's readmission to international competition."

"There can be no business as usual while Russia wages war on Ukraine," Sybiha said.

Larsson ruled out a boycott, and said that Swedish sports will "stick to the line ... that we express our opinion clearly and influence as much as we can."

Rather than boycotts, Sybiha's focus is on travel bans.

"I also call on governments that have not lost their moral compass to deny Russian players entry to their territory," Sybiha said.

Russia's first tournament post-ban is set to be the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Canada from December 2026.

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said "all options are on the table," though did not specifically float a Russian travel ban.

But when Lithuania rejected visa requests for Russia to compete in a world pentathlon tournament, it was stripped of its hosting rights.

The men's ice hockey world cup is set to take place in Germany, in May 2027. Germany has yet to comment on banning Russians from entering the country, though the idea is being worked on by the EU.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said she will take action to block Russian athletes from entering Finland in a social media post on Nov. 1, following her push in October to get the EU as a whole to take action.