Alpine Canada pulls out of ski cross World Cup in Russia amid military conflict

Alpine Canada has pulled out of a ski cross World Cup event in Sunny Valley, Russia, scheduled to take place this weekend due to the ongoing Russian military invasion of Ukrainian territory.

"Due to the current circumstance in the region, Canada's ski cross team will not be competing in the weekend's race in Sunny Valley, Russia," read an Alpine Canada statement issued on Thursday afternoon to CBC Sports.

The federation said some of their athletes and personal were already in Russia, but it is "working to secure flights out of the region as soon as possible."

Early on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion on Ukrainian territory by land, air and sea.

The military offence led 100,000 people to flee homes in Ukraine, the United Nations refugee agency estimates.

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