Russian gymnast who drew fierce backlash for wearing a pro-war symbol said he'd do it again and appeared to blame his Ukrainian opponents

• Gymnast Ivan Kuliak was seen wearing a "Z" on his gymnastics uniform after an event Sunday.
• The symbol has been displayed on military vehicles invading Ukraine, and co-opted by pro-war groups.

The Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak said he has no regrets after he was pictured wearing a pro-war "Z" symbol at a Sunday medal ceremony.

Kuliak, who earned bronze in the parallel bars final at the Apparatus World Cup in Doha, Qatar, displayed the symbol while standing on a podium with his Ukrainian rival.

The symbol has been seen painted on the side of Russian tanks and military vehicles deployed to invade Ukraine.

It has since been co-opted by civilians who support the invasion, seemingly including Kuliak, who was beaten in the event by Ukrainian athlete Illia Kovtun, who took gold.

After Kuliak's display, he was sharply criticized, including by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), which called for disciplinary proceedings following his "shocking behavior."

But in an interview with the state-sponsored media outlet Russia Today, Kuliak appeared to blame his Ukrainian opponents, whom he said "escalated" tensions at the competition.

"Their behavior at some points was completely unacceptable," Kuliak told RT.

"During performances they would shout 'Glory to Ukraine!', or go out on the podium wrapped in the national flag while we were considered neutral athletes, and because of this we felt uncomfortable."

He said the behavior of the Ukrainian athletes "greatly escalated the situation."

Kuliak didn't provide evidence for his assertions, and footage from the podium ceremony showed that Kovtun was not draped in a Ukrainian flag.

"If there was a second chance and I had a choice whether to go out with the letter 'Z' on my chest or not, I would do the same," Kuliak continued.

"I saw it on our military and looked at what this symbol means. It turned out to be 'for victory' and 'for peace.' I just wanted to show my position. As an athlete, I will always fight for victory and play for peace."

The claim that Russia was seeking peace in Ukraine by launching an invasion is a frequent talking point in Russian media.

Kuliak's bosses back home also said that they backed the athlete's choices.

"I don't think that Ivan wanted to make a special demonstration, but we will support him in any case," said Vasily Titov, the head of Russia's Artistic Gymnastics Federation.

Titov appeared to suggest that Kuliak was only facing punishment because he violated uniform rules.

"It was a violation of the uniform approved by the FIG. I think that they can punish," he said, before noting that one punishment would be a ban.

This, Titov said, wouldn't make a big difference given that Russian athletes were already banned from international competitions as of Monday.

"They can also remove us from participation. But we were already removed," he said.

Kuliak's appearance on Sunday was the final opportunity for gymnasts from Russia and Belarus — a Russian ally and key staging area for Russian forces — to compete in international events after their countries were banned from competing in FIG and FIG-sanctioned competition as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The FIG also canceled events taking place in Russia or Belarus until further notice.