The World Cup was adopted by the Russian fence who was a trusted man of Vladimir Putin.
This is Sofia Velikui – the major of the Armed Forces of Russia and Putin’s power of attorney in the elections in 2024.
The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine previously urged to prevent his competition. They explained that, according to the IOC criteria, such a person cannot be recognized as neutral and has no right to participate in international sports.
The list also included Russian Yegorian. He has the military rank of lieutenant of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, denotes the Central Sports Club of the Russian Army (CSKA), subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Earlier in June, Velikai was included in the list of candidates for the Commission of Athletes of the International Fengling Federation. This was reported on the official web FIE.
The participants of the World Cup will vote for candidates. In the general list of candidates, there was a 39-year-old Russian woman Sofya Wilika, a two-time Olympic champion in the Saber team. The elections will be held on July 22-30.
In 2025, FIE approved changes in the structure of the commission of athletes: now it will consist of seven elected and five appointed members (previously six in each category).
The Great is included in the list of candidates from women’s sabra – disciplines in which Ukrainian Olga Harlan is Ukrainian. The leader of the national team of Ukraine responded to Russians to the list of candidates in social networks, emphasizing the failure of the principles of neutrality.
Ukraine is fighting daily with Russian terror. At the same time, FIE did not allow the neutral Russian athlete to be a candidate for a commission of athletes, ”Harlan wrote on Instagram.
In April 2025, Velikai was included in the Sanctions list signed by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky against representatives of Russian sports.
This year, the International fencing Federation also recognized the “neutral” Russian and Belarusian competitions in team competitions under the auspices of the organization.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.