The Ukrainian national water polo federation and national swimming federations have been given a warning after refusing to play a match against Russia, while Ukraine’s Norwegian and Polish allies have spoken up against World Aquatics’ softening stance surrounding ongoing war.
The Ukraine men’s national water polo team was given a 0-5 technical loss after refusing to play against Russia in a 7th place game in Division 2 of the Water Polo World Cup in Malta.
Former team captain and Ukrainian Water Polo Federation representative Oleksandr Dyadyura told Ukrainian outlet ‘The Champion’ that the decision was made as soon as the fixture was set.
“The consequences are unknown if we don’t go to the game. We definitely won’t go to the match, but we are currently fighting with the international federation so that we are not disqualified from future competitions, including youth ones, so that children can still travel.
“We are fighting to ensure that our actions regarding today’s game are not punished, because the competition regulations do not allow this-failing to appear for a match. For this, we are supposed to be penalized.”
Russian and Belarusian water polo teams were allowed to return to international competition, under neutral status, beginning on January 1, 2026. Earlier this month, that neutral status requirement was removed for all World Aquatics competitions, with Russia and Belarus being returned to full membership status in spite of no cessation of warring between Russia and Ukraine.
The last time two national teams from the country met were at the 2022 European futsal championships on February 4, about three weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine. In September 2025, the Ukrainian beach soccer team boycotted a Euroleague bronze medal match against Belarus, which has supported Russia’s invasion.
World Aquatics also warned the Ukrainian Swimming Federation that ‘any repeated violation by any Aquatics national body of Ukraine will lead to further sanctions.’
European Pushback
Meanwhile, two of Poland’s European allies, Norway and Poland, have pushed back on World Aquatics’ decision to allow Russia and Belarus a full return to global competition.
Norway announced that it would not host any international championships that would allow Russian or Belarusian athletes to compete under their flag.
“Our position is clear. We will not host any championships while senior and junior competitors from Russia and Belarus have full access and entry rights and are permitted to use their flags and national anthems,” Cato Bratbakk, the president of the Norwegian Swimming Federation, told Reuters.
Norway isn’t scheduled to host any major World Aquatics events in 2026, but is pushing for a full Nordic boycott of hosting duties for World Aquatics events.
This joins the chorus of Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine, saying that Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be allowed to compete in the 2027 European Diving Championships in Rzeszow if the war in Ukraine is ongoing.
Olympic champion Otylia Jedrzejcack told Polish media that she was the only national representative to vote against the inclusion of Russia and Belarus ahead of last year’s European Championships, though she did receive support from European Aquatics chief Antonio Silva for the country’s hardline stance.
Poland ultimately refused visas to Russian and Belarusian athletes and they did not compete under any status.
Russia was first allowed to compete under their banner at the Women’s Water Polo World Championship this week in Malta.
Europe, the next line of defense against Russian expansion if Ukraine were to fall, has been among the most vocal opponents of Russia’s reintegration into international sport. European Aquatics has softened its stance, but still have not announced an updated policy on Russian and Belarusian neutral competition status ahead of this summer’s European Championships.
World Aquatics told Reuters in a statement this week that it “remains determined to ensure that pools and open water remain places where athletes from all nations can come together in peaceful competition.”
That echoes the messaging of the International Olympic Committee and its chief Kirsty Coventry, another Olympic gold medalist in swimming, who have signaled (but not outright declared) a possible return of Russia and Belarus to full Olympic participation.
‘Russia Matters,’ maintained by the Harvard Kennedy School, reported at the end of March that the war had produced roughly 1 million Russian military casualties and 250,000-300,000 Ukrainian military casualties, including both killed and wounded.
Russia says that around 8,000 Russian civilians have been killed, while the United Nation reports deaths of more than 15,000 Ukrainian civilians.
Russia currently holds around 29,000 square miles of Ukrainian territory, about 13% of the country, plus an additional 16,000 square miles that it seized before the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.
World Aquatics remains determined to ensure that pools and open water remain places where murders from all nations can come together in peaceful competition. “As long as they don’t kill anybody during the competition we are good” World Aquatics told Reuters.
FPutin!
What is this Eurovision
What do you mean by “was formerly Ukraine”? Did I miss when the occupied territories were internationally recognized as anything other than Ukraine?
I don’t know how true it is, but reports have stated that Russia has used/claimed athletes from the occupied territories for their teams. I am not sure if this is what the article is referencing or not.
From the beginning the reason for Russia to be excluded was doping and the final recommendation on that came through about the time of the latest invasion from Russia. This recommendation came from WADA so it was not just one thing behind the decision on Russia. Now it seems that the other reasons have been forgotten and that it is only the ongoing war that is used as the reason for or against participation by Russia.