A joint letter from Skate Ukraine & Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation

To ISU President,
ISU Secretariat,
ISU Council Members,
ISU Director General,
ISU Disciplinary Commission Chairman,
all ISU Members.

Since February 24 of 2022, the Russian Federation has been carrying out an outrageous, now open and full-scale, invasion of Ukraine. Our cities, hospitals, and kindergartens are being shelled by Russian rockets and missiles, our infrastructure is being destroyed, and our right to exist is under attack by the Russian Federation. Our skaters are hiding in bomb shelters at this very moment, as you read this letter. Many are fleeing to neighboring countries, trying to save themselves and their kids from the war.

This is a brutal violation of the UN Charter, basic norms of international law, Geneva Convention, Olympic Truce, and the principles of the Olympic Charter. For the purpose of protecting Ukraine, Europe and the whole democratic world are uniting to hold Russia accountable.

While we are grateful for your official statement condemning the Russian attack on Ukraine released this Sunday, we disagree that it’s enough to show the ISU’s commitment to the Olympic movement, fairness of sports, and integrity of its Members’ safety. More actions should be taken.

As per IOC requests, we request ISU to consider following steps:

1) Do not allow any representatives of the Russian Federation or Belarus in any of the sports events as competitors or as officials.

2) Ban Russia and Belarus from hosting any competitions – not just in the 2021/22 season.

3) Cancel Russia’s and Belarus’s ISU memberships.

4) Open an investigation regarding numerous posts from Russian skaters and coaches justifying the war.

Full text and document here:
https://skateukraine.org/post/2022/war/