World Aquatics Lifts Russia Ban, Drawing Fierce Condemnation From Ukraine

World Aquatics, the governing body that oversees swimming, diving and water polo, has lifted restrictions that barred Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing under their own flags and anthems — a move that drew immediate and fierce condemnation from Ukraine.

The ban had been in place since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Athletes from both nations were required to compete under neutral status, stripped of national symbols. That changed this week, with World Aquatics president Husain al-Musallam confirming the policy reversal in a statement that framed the decision as a commitment to keeping “pools and open water places where athletes from all nations can come together in peaceful competition.”

The decision arrives alongside a broader shift in how international sports bodies approach Russian reintegration. The International Olympic Committee recommended in December that restrictions be removed for youth events and that athletes be permitted to compete under their national flags. Judo took a similar step last year. Now aquatics has followed.

Russia welcomed the news enthusiastically. Dmitry Mazepin, head of the Russian Aquatics Federation, said the decision would be embraced by athletes and called competing as a neutral without the anthem “an insult.” Russian athletes are also now permitted to host world and European events on Russian soil for the first time since 2022.

Ukraine’s response was sharp. On the same day World Aquatics announced its decision, Ukraine’s water polo players boycotted a World Cup match against a Russian team — the first time a Russian team had participated in an international team-sport competition since the war began.

Among the most vocal critics was Vladyslav Heraskevych, Ukraine’s skeleton star who gained global attention at the Winter Olympics when he was disqualified for wearing a helmet bearing a message of remembrance for victims of the war. He called the decision “unacceptable and disgraceful.”

“World Aquatics claims it can keep the conflict away from pools and competition venues,” Heraskevych told the Guardian. “But of course, this does not apply to Ukrainian sports facilities and pools, which are constantly being struck by Russian missiles. It does not apply to Ukrainian athletes, who are also dying in the war unleashed by Russia.”

Heraskevych also pointed to the case of Evgeny Rylov, the Russian swimmer who appeared at a pro-Putin rally at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium in 2022 wearing a ‘Z’ symbol — a marker of support for Russia’s invasion. “With this decision to restore Russian flags and anthem,” Heraskevych said, “they are providing their competition platforms for the spread of Russian propaganda — propaganda that is killing us, Ukrainians.”

The decision puts additional pressure on the IOC, which faces growing calls to clarify its position ahead of the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028. The IPC, by contrast, allowed Russians to compete under their own flag at the Paralympics in March, taking a divergent path.

The controversy shows no signs of abating. As Russian athletes prepare to return to international aquatics competitions, Ukrainian athletes and their supporters insist that sport cannot be decoupled from a war that continues to devastate their country.