Many supposedly 'neutral' Russian Olympic athletes have cheered on the invasion of Ukraine, rights group says

• A rights group says that two-thirds of Russian Olympic athletes are breaking rules of neutrality.
• Russia is barred from competing, but some athletes can compete under a "neutral" flag.

At least two-thirds of the Russian athletes set to participate in the Olympic Games starting next week in Paris are openly defying neutrality rules over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a human rights group claims.

Russia and Belarus are barred from sending teams to compete in the Olympics due to the war. However, athletes from the countries can still compete as "individual neutral athletes," or AINs, if they meet certain conditions.

As of July 13, 15 Russian athletes had accepted invitations to participate as AINs.

The invitations are based on strict rules outlined by the International Olympic Committee that forbid military employment and public expressions of support for the war.

But an extensive dossier compiled by the human rights foundation Global Rights Compliance, and shared with Business Insider, showed that 10 of the Russian athletes have been openly pro-military, either on social media or through groups they are affiliated with.

Seven Belarusians were also found to have broken the IOC's rules, it said.

"The IOC is turning a blind eye to the involvement of Russian and Belarusian athletes who have demonstrated their support for Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine," Wayne Jordash, the group's president, said in a statement to BI.

He added that "this is not only a violation of the UN Charter, but it continues to punish Ukraine's innocent men, women and children with a daily catalog of war crimes and crimes against humanity."

At least 450 top Ukrainian athletes have died in the war, the group noted.

A spokesperson for the IOC did not respond to most of BI's questions, offering instead a blanket statement saying it had reviewed all cases according to the guidelines and could not comment further.

A hollow neutrality?

In December, the IOC announced that "strict" eligibility conditions had been set for AINs, who needed to sign up to "the peace mission of the Olympic Movement."

Athletes will compete in white uniforms under a green flag, and stand for a lyric-less anthem written specially for the event.

The IOC also said it would be doing background checks on all their activities, including statements made on social media, attending pro-war events, and displaying pro-war symbols like the "Z" used by Russian armed forces.

But Global Rights Compliance, citing open source research, identified multiple Russian and Belarusian athletes who it says fall foul of this.

BI was unable to independently verify all of the group's findings.

Liking Russian military 'heroes' on Instagram

Elena Vesnina, a tennis player known for her success in doubles matches, is set to compete as an AIN in Paris.

Yet in March 2022, a verified Instagram account apparently belonging to Vesnina "liked" a post by Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov, which hailed the "heroism" of three Russian soldiers for fighting in Ukraine. In the post, Solovyov referred to Ukrainians as neo-Nazis.

Vesnina is one of seven Russian tennis players who have accepted an invitation to play as an AIN — four of whom Global Rights Compliance says have breached neutrality rules.

The account attached to Vesnina also "liked" a March 2022 post showing a picture of Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak, who wore a "Z" on his leotard as he stood next to a Ukrainian gymnast, bringing international condemnation.

The person who made the post — Russian former gymnast Alexey Nemov — had added commentary railing against Kuliak's critics.

Vesnina did not respond to BI's request for comment.

Connections to the military

GRC also identified several athletes as being members of sporting groups with close ties to Russia's military.

Several of them, the group said, are members of the All-Russian Physical Culture and Sports Society "Dynamo" — an association devoted to developing the combat fitness of the security services — or the Central Sports Club of the Army.

Two of the Belarusian athletes are even members of the armed forces, the group said.

The IOC rules state that athletes can't be "contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies."

Global Rights Compliance said it was releasing the dossier as "a measure of last resort," stating that the IOC had all but ignored its multiple warnings.

It said that the IOC initially responded to say it took the allegations seriously and was "reviewing" the athletes, but that it didn't hear a word from the Olympic committee after that.