The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is demanding that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) conduct an internal investigation into who allowed a Russian woman to carry Ukraine's sign at the opening of the Olympic Games in Milan.
This was announced at a briefing by Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgy Tykhyi.
“This goes beyond any human morality and any principles. Honestly, it's hard to even describe it in words,” he said.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman stressed that such a situation is “shameful and unacceptable.”
It was previously reported that at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, a sign with the inscription “Ukraine” was carried by Russian Anastasia Kucherova.
The Russian woman noted that from the beginning the distribution of countries among the volunteers was random, but when the choreographer asked about her preferences, she chose Ukraine.
“When you walk next to these people, you understand that they have every right to feel hatred for any Russian. However, I think it's important to do even a small act to show them that maybe not all people think the same way,” Kucherova noted.
According to her, the Ukrainian athletes immediately recognized her origin and addressed her in Russian, which for her was a sign of “some deep connection” between Russians and Ukrainians, “which, obviously, could have continued if it weren't for the war.”