If we don't go to intl competitions, while Russians are talking about Russian world, it won't benefit us – Sports minister Bidny

Ukraine’s Minister of Youth and Sports Matviy Bidny believes that Ukrainian athletes need to be present at international competitions, even with the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes, in order to be visible and promote their narrative.

"If we do not go to international sports competitions, but sit alone and proudly at home, while Russians under their own flags will talk about the "Russian world" at these international starts, it will not benefit us. Ukraine is a country of great sports traditions, and our athletes are the best ambassadors of Ukraine in the world. Let’s look at the performances of our outstanding athletes, such as Oleksandr Koval, Oleksandr Usyk, Elina Svitolina, Marta Kostyuk, Olya Kharlan, who tell at press conferences what is happening in Ukraine today. Therefore, in order to be noticeable, we need to be present, we need to perform and win," said Bidny in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency, answering the question of whether there are cases today when Ukrainian athletes should refuse to participate in competitions due to the presence of athletes from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus there.

He noted that Ukraine must be careful not to play along with Russian propaganda in this context, and today very thorough work is being done on this.

In particular, the minister recalled that a special working group has been created to consider all the nuances of holding competitions, regulatory norms, so that Ukrainian athletes do not become victims of provocations, and so that the enemy cannot use any shortcomings for its own purposes.

When asked whether there were any cases when the working group recommended not to participate in competitions due to the presence