The war in Ukraine is a tragedy for every Ukrainian. Every day, the news reports countless atrocities and devastating losses due to the ongoing aggression by Russian forces. Innocent lives are killed, communities are destroyed, and a sense of safety and normalcy has been stolen from Ukraine. It is heart-wrenching to witness the continued violence and suffering as many Ukrainians lose their lives and loved ones to this devastating conflict.

According to the Institute for the Study of War, Russia is likely using “temporary accommodation centres”  (TACs) to facilitate the forcible transfer of Ukrainians within Russian-occupied territories or their deportation to Russia under the guise of humanitarian evacuations. The Russian public charitable fund “Russian Children’s Fund,” has been involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. Russia continues to train and integrate young Ukrainians into its nuclear energy operation ecosystem. The Russian Federal government is investing heavily in the agricultural sector in occupied Ukraine in order to maximise the extraction potential of valuable resources for Russia’s profit. Russian student programs are directly training Ukrainian youth to serve the Russian defense Industrial base (DIB). Various Ukrainian human rights experts have noted that Russian medical exams on Ukrainian children are often forced and done with fabricated, or a total lack of, consent from the parents of children.

Very recently, Russia is expanding the institutionalised use of state-approved history textbooks in occupied Ukraine to indoctrinate children with Kremlin narratives that delegitimise Ukrainian identity and justify Russia's occupation and illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory. Russian occupation administrations are preparing for the upcoming school year by importing Russian teachers to work in schools in occupied areas via the Zemsky Teacher Program. The Kherson Oblast occupation administration is investing in efforts to train Ukrainian youth how to operate drones as part of its broader youth policy programming. Russia is forcing Ukrainians in occupied territories to accept Russian citizenship to access basic public services, healthcare, and employment. In the Duma region, Russia is establishing federal-level voting infrastructure and conducting local registration to fold occupied zones into Russian political cycles. Occupation authorities systematically remove Ukrainian signs. An example occurred in Mariupol, where crews immediately changed the city’s entry monument from the Ukrainian spelling to the Russian spelling. Ukrainians aren’t even allowed to use the Ukrainian language in the occupied regions without the possibility of getting in arbitrary detentions. Russian forces have purged local libraries and schools, seizing and destroying Ukrainian language literature and history books. Ukrainians everyday are being told they are Russian, that they need to learn the Russian language, that they must learn in Russian, that nothing belongs to Ukraine. The past 8 months have been some of the deadliest months for Ukrainians since the war began.

Given this ongoing crisis, it feels inherently wrong for Russian athletes to take part in world sports events under the International Skating Union (ISU). Russian and Belarusian athletes compete with a neutral flag and under AIN (Individual Neutral Athlete) status. Everyone knows these athletes are from Russia and Belarus even without a flag or anthem. Every win under the AIN flag will be used as propaganda for Russia and everyone celebrates it as a Russian win. During the 2026 Milano Winter Olympics, some people held up Russian flags for the AIN athletes.

Skaters like Mark Kondratiuk, Kamila Valieva, Alexandra Ignatova (Trusova), and many more have all met Vladimir Putin after the war already began. Mark Kondratiuk specifically has been drafted into the Russian army’s sports club (CSKA) in 2022 after the invasion began and attending state-level ceremonies with Vladimir Putin. Kamila Valieva has participated in an event called “Movement of the First”. That event has supported the kidnapping of multiple Ukrainian children. All of them received Neutral status. But tell me, how is meeting with a man who is continuously committing a genocide ‘neutral’? The ISU’s ‘strict’ rules for AIN status isn’t strict enough.

The International Skating Union would rather allow Russia back than ban Israel and the United States as well. The ISU is a cowardly sport organisation. How can they claim to care about their athletes when allowing these countries to compete?

Moreover, other sports governing bodies have taken similar actions. For example, FIFA and UEFA temporarily banned Russian teams from international competitions post-invasion. The governing body for track and field has maintained a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes. But the ISU couldn’t keep the ban?

Ukrainian Figure skater Kyrylo Marsak has been open about the damages Russia has caused to his home. A quote from him is “Unfortunately most of the places that mean a lot to me which I liked are ruined at the moment. The skating rink is completely destroyed beyond repair, and a missile also flew into our house.” He was talking about the home he grew up in and the rink in Ukraine he used to train in. They have been destroyed by Russia. Ukrainian-born figure skater who represents the U.S Vadym Kolesnik has also spoken up about Russia being allowed back.

By signing this petition, you can join me in calling on President of the International Skating Union, Kim Jae-youl, and its representatives to reflect on the consequences of allowing Russia back internationally, even under AIN. Let us stand in solidarity with Ukraine, demonstrate our commitment to justice, morals, and use the power of sports to promote peace and decry violence.

Sign this petition today to demand the International Skating Union bans Russian and Belarusian athletes from its competitions until there is a cessation of the war.