The Olympics must stop silencing the fallen

The Ukrainian World Congress calls on the International Olympic Committee to immediately reverse its decision to bar Ukrainian athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych for honoring athletes killed by Russia’s war. 

We call on people around the world to join us in protesting this decision and demanding Vladyslav’s reinstatement by posting the message “Remembrance is NOT a violation.” 

Remembrance is not a breach of Olympic values. Punishing it is. Heraskevych’s gesture was not political. It was human. The names he displayed belonged to athletes who should be competing today and are absent only because Russia took their lives. Forbidding this acknowledgment denies the reality of the war and its toll on Ukraine’s sporting community. 

This decision defies Olympic precedent. Acts of remembrance and solidarity have long been part of Olympic history and have not been met with censure or exclusion. Singling out a Ukrainian athlete exposes a double standard that undermines the IOC’s claim to neutrality.

UWC President Paul Grod stated:

“Honoring murdered athletes is a moral obligation. The IOC’s decision sends a devastating message that the memory of those killed by Russia’s war is less important than avoiding discomfort for the aggressor.”

By punishing remembrance, the IOC rewards aggression and tells athletes that truth must be hidden when it is inconvenient. The Ukrainian World Congress urges the IOC to reverse this decision and reaffirm that remembrance strengthens, rather than violates, the Olympic spirit.

Honor the fallen. Let their absence be seen. Their silence is the consequence of Russia’s war, and it must not be ignored.