Russia's return to global sports gathers momentum as EU mulls response

BRUSSELS, Belgium — The EU is working on how to stop Russia from laundering its reputation through international sporting events, but as it talks, Moscow creates new facts on the ground.

"Sports and culture must not become vehicles for whitewashing Russian aggression," the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas told journalists on Oct. 13.

But since then, there have been at least two instances in which Russia has been able to advance its sports agenda.

Lithuania was stripped of its right to host an April 2027 international pentathlon tournament on Oct. 19 after it refused to grant visas to Russian and Belarusian athletes for the event.

And on Oct. 25, the International Weightlifting Federation announced that its 2030 championship would take place in Moscow, the first time such a high-level contest has been awarded to Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In both cases, the condemnations and expressions of disappointment have come thick and fast.

Lithuania's Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys called the pentathlon decision "shameful" and said the EU "must tighten restrictions on Russian and Belarusian athletes competing under national colors, expand visa bans and sanctions, and cut support for those enabling state-sponsored propaganda."

And Ukraine's Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi told public broadcaster Suspilne that Kyiv would boycott the weightlifting tournament in Moscow.

The minister added that he considers the choice of host "an alarming and unacceptable signal," which "suggests that the influence of Russians in some international federations is extremely strong."

Likewise, European Commission spokesperson Eva Hrncirova told the Kyiv Independent that the EU's executive arm "regrets" both of those decisions.

"In line with the autonomy of sport, international federations are responsible for decision-making on where to host international competitions. However, both federations and member states should act in line with EU sanctions and values," Hrncirova said.

Beyond criticism, the EU is also preparing measures in a bid to tackle the issue.

Kallas said on Oct. 13 that the EU's diplomatic arm, the European External Action Service, "together with the Commission, will put forward proposals on how to sustain Russia's isolation in global sports."

And Hrncirova said that "the Commission is facilitating and supporting coordinated action among member states and with like-minded international partners to resist the instrumentalization of sport by Russia and Belarus."

However, it remains unknown when the new measures will be announced. In the meantime, Russia's lobbying to return to sports continues unabated.

Russia's all-out war has taken a heavy toll on Ukraine, with hundreds of Ukrainian athletes and coaches killed and hundreds of sports facilities destroyed by Russian missile and drone attacks.