Ukraine hopes that the team of "neutral" Russian women will not get to the chess championship

Ukraine hopes that the International Olympic Committee will refuse to allow a "neutral" team of Russian citizens to participate in the 2025 Women's World Chess Championship. This is stated in a letter sent by Ukrainian institutions to the IOC and the governing bodies of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), reported Ministry of Youth and Sports.

"The war unleashed by Russia has already claimed the lives of more than 600 Ukrainian athletes and coaches. More than 700 sports infrastructure facilities have been destroyed, including 19 Olympic, Paralympic and Deaflympic training centers," the letter reminds.

Ukraine noted that FIDE's decision to allow the Russian women's national team to participate in the championship contradicts the basic principles of fairness, responsibility and solidarity in the global sports movement, as well as the IOC's 2023 recommendations.

Kyiv emphasized that this decision is "another evidence of FIDE's full control over the Russian Chess Federation".

"It is worth reminding that the international federation is headed by Russian citizen Arkady Dvorkovich, a functionary close to the Kremlin and a public supporter of the Putin regime," the document says.

Ukrainian agencies emphasized that the aggressor countries use sports not for dialogue and unity but as a propaganda tool, and Kyiv hopes that the IOC will take a principled stand and refuse to approve the participation of the Russian team.

"The position of Ukraine remains unchanged: as long as the war against our people continues, Russian and Belarusian athletes should not have the right to participate in international competitions in any status," the letter concludes.

The appeal was signed by the head of the National Olympic Committee Vadim Gutzeit, minister of Youth and Sports Matviy Bidnyi and the head of the Ukrainian Chess Federation, presidential advisor Alexander Kamyshin.

• On July 18, FIDE allowed a team of Russian citizens to participate in the 2025 Women's World Chess Championship under a neutral flag – this will happen if there are no objections from the IOC.
• After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian players in neutral status were allowed only to participate in individual competitions.
• In September 2024, an informed interlocutor LIGA.net confirmed that the current FIDE president Dvorkovich, is dependent on the Russian authorities he has criminal cases against him and has assets in the aggressor country.