Ukrainians on Thursday (February 12) criticised a decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to disqualify skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych over a “helmet of remembrance” honouring athletes killed in the war, calling the move unjust as Russia’s invasion nears its third year.

“This is injustice,” said Anzhelika Rymar, a 56 year old Kyiv resident, standing near a display of destroyed military vehicles. “The whole world should know that there is a cruel war going on in Ukraine, that people are dying every day.”

Others in the capital shared her view, including former Olympic athlete Nataliia Huba, who called Heraskevych “a hero” and said the decision had robbed him of the chance to compete. “He was not allowed to speak out and he was not allowed to stand at the starting point,” she said in a Kyiv metro station. “It is cruel. This is also politics.”

Huba, a two-time gold medallist at the Rowing European Championships, took part in the Rowing Double Sculls at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and finished sixth in the final.

The IOC disqualified Heraskevych from the skeleton competition at the Winter Games on Thursday, saying his helmet – which depicted Ukrainian athletes killed since Russia’s 2022 invasion – violated rules on political messaging.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticised the IOC’s decision, saying it contradicted the spirit of the Games. “Sport shouldn’t mean amnesia, and the Olympic movement should help stop wars, not play into the hands of aggressors,” he wrote on X.

He said the helmet, bearing portraits of fallen Ukrainian athletes, served as a reminder of Russian aggression and “the cost of fighting for independence”. “No rule has been broken,” he added.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

KYIV, UKRAINE (FEBRUARY 12, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all)

1. SIGN READING ‘FREEDOM’ NEAR DESTROYED VEHICLES ON DISPLAY

2. VARIOUS OF MILITARY FUNERAL CEREMONY ONGOING

3. WOMAN HOLDING EMOTIONS AS CEREMONY PASSES BY

4. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 56-YEAR-OLD KYIV RESIDENT, ANZHELIKA RYMAR, SAYING:

“This is injustice. The whole world should know that there is a cruel war going on in Ukraine, that people are dying every day. Tonight, our energy systems were shelled yet again.”

5. DESTROYED VEHICLE ON DISPLAY

6. UKRAINIAN FLAG

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 56-YEAR-OLD KYIV RESIDENT, ANZHELIKA RYMAR, SAYING:

“At the Olympic Games, if a person has the honour, conscience, and dignity to participate, they have no right to disqualify him.”

8. PEOPLE WALKING / AIR RAID ALERT BLARING

9. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE IN METRO

10. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) EX-OLYMPIC ATHLETE (ROWING - DOUBLE SCULLS IN 2004), NATALIIA HUBA, SAYING:

“I believe that he is a hero. Inside the athlete, in his soul, perhaps this is a tragedy. Because, first of all, he was not allowed to speak out and he was not allowed to stand at the starting point. He did not feel fulfilled as an athlete, therefore this is a tragedy for him as an athlete. But he is a hero of Ukraine.”

11. PEOPLE WALKING IN METRO

12. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) EX-OLYMPIC ATHLETE, NATALIIA HUBA, SAYING:

“It is cruel. This is also politics. Justice cannot be sought here. Yes, it is unfair, but it happened. And they drew attention to us in this way.”

13. DESTROYED VEHICLES ON DISPLAY

14. VARIOUS OF SHAHED DRONE ON DISPLAY

15. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 32-YEAR-OLD KYIV RESIDENT, ALISA MARCHUK, SAYING:

“He wanted to represent those people who could be, relatively speaking, in his place today. Perhaps this is a very sensitive topic for other countries, but for us it is the most sensitive topic and it is very unfair.”

16. VARIOUS OF DESTROYED RUSSIAN MILITARY VEHICLES ON DISPLAY

17. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) 77-YEAR-OLD PENSIONER, NATALIIA KUNGINA, SAYING:

“I think that you should appreciate the person for his performance, not for the clothes he is wearing.”

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, ITALY (FEBRUARY 10, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

18. UKRAINIAN SKELETON RACER VLADYSLAV HERASKEVYCH ARRIVING FOR PRESS CONFERECE

19. VARIOUS OF HERASKEVYCH’S HELMET

20. HERASKEVYCH LEAVING

INTERNET (FEBRUARY 12, 2026) (SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITE - Access all) (MUTE)

21. SCREENGRAB OF SOCIAL MEDIA POST ON X BY UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, READING (English):

“Sport shouldn’t mean amnesia, and the Olympic movement should help stop wars, not play into the hands of aggressors. Unfortunately, the decision of the International Olympic Committee to disqualify Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych says otherwise. This is certainly not about the principles of Olympism, which are founded on fairness and the support of peace. I thank our athlete for his clear stance. His helmet, bearing the portraits of fallen Ukrainian athletes, is about honour and remembrance. It is a reminder to the whole world of what Russian aggression is and the cost of fighting for independence. And in this, no rule has been broken.”

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, ITALY (FEBRUARY 11, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

22. VARIOUS OF STILL PHOTOGRAPHS OF HERASKEVYCH TRAINING

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, ITALY (FEBRUARY 12, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

23. VARIOUS OF STILL PHOTOGRAPHS OF HERASKEVYCH HOLDING HELMET