15 February, 2024
Tonight, Shakhtar Donetsk faces Olympique de Marseille in the Europa League.Shakhtar is a club from the city of Donetsk, one of the first Ukrainian cities attacked by Russia in 2014 and since then occupied by the Russian aggressor.Let’s talk about this and the Ukrainian clubs that suffer from Russian aggression every day, including Shakhtar’s partner, Lokomotiv Kyiv.Originally, Shakhtar played at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk, built in 2009 for EURO 2012.In 2014, Russia attacked Ukraine, annexing Crimea and destabilizing the Donbas region, including Donetsk, by orchestrating a hybrid war and sending militias disguised as separatists.Donetsk was hit hard by the war. The Donbass Arena, like so many other civilian infrastructures, was damaged during the fighting in August 2...
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13 February, 2024
Can Russian athletes attending the Paris Olympics truly be considered neutral?Today, we present the multifaceted profile of Nikita Nagornyy, a 26-year-old Russian gymnast, gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, and silver medalist at the Rio Olympics.Let’s examine key aspects of Nagornyy’s life to understand just how “neutral and non-political” he really is.Nikita Nagornyy holds the rank of second lieutenant in the Rosgvardia (National Guard), an internal military force of the Russian Federation. He has publicly expressed great pride in this role on numerous occasions. On May 9, 2022, just three months after Russia’s attack on Ukraine, he participated in the “Victory Parade” with the Russian Youth Army on Red Square in Moscow. Nagornyy is a prominent leader of the Russi...
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8 February, 2024
In December, the International Olympic Committee authorized Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under a “neutral” banner at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.The decision was announced on December 10, the eve of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations' adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights—a document openly violated by Russia as it massacres thousands of civilians in Ukraine.In Russia, sports, state propaganda, and the military are inseparable. Many Russian athletes are active military officers. For instance, 45 out of 71 medalists from the Russian team at the Tokyo Olympics were members of the Central Sports Club of the Russian Armed Forces. Interim soldiers. Sports are a cornerstone of Putin's militaristic system, a fact Russians openly celebrate wi...
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