The European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) has published a new report 'Russia's war on Ukraine: Impact on athletes and sports competitions' detailing the timeline and actions promoted by the sporting movement in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The report details how the Olympic Movement has provided humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian sports community and outlines the response taken by the EU in imposing various sporting sanctions on Russia in recent months.
Initiatives taken by the sports movement in hosting Ukrainian displaced athletes and providing humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian Sports Community are also detailed in the report.
The report also mentions that Spyros Capralos, President of the European Olympic Committees, praised the collaboration with National Olympic Committees from Poland, Finland, Estonia, Romania, Austria and Italy in providing accommodation and sports equipment to Ukrainian athletes.
The EPRS document also outlines the impact of ‘sports washing’ in Russia over recent years and how sport has been used as a tool by Vladimir Putin to promote his regime. The EPRS cites the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and the 2018 FIFA World Cup as two recent examples of sportswashing in Russia to ‘gain international credibility and divert attention from their troublesome human rights records’.
The EPRS's report outlines how Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine has 'put an end to sport’s neutrality', adding that the response of multiple sport governing bodies to exclude Russia from major sporting events has deprived Putin of a precious soft power.
Focusing on the EU, the think tank's new report describes how, under the French Presidency of the Council, EU sports ministers backed initiatives to help Ukrainian athletes continue their activities.
You can read the full report from the European Parliamentary Research Service here.