Ukrainian water polo players were awarded a technical defeat for failing to attend the match with the Russian Federation

On April 13, the International Water Sports Federation (World Aquatics) awarded the Ukrainian water polo team a 0:5 technical defeat for refusing to play against the Russians at the Water Polo World Cup.

The national teams of Russia and Ukraine were scheduled to meet on Monday, April 13 in Gzira (Malta) in a match for the seventh place of the second division. The Water Polo Federation of Ukraine (WWPU) asked World Aquatics to cancel the match, and after being refused, announced its decision to boycott the meeting.

For the Russian team, this is the first tournament under the auspices of World Aquatics since its suspension in 2022.

The truth in the water: how our water polo players performed at the World Cup

It was the first international start of the national team in a game sport since the suspension of our athletes in 2022.

On February 18, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga called for a boycott of the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Italy. The reason for Kiev's protest was the decision of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the upcoming competitions in full status.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the call by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to harass athletes with Russian roots competing at the 2026 Olympic Games neo-Nazism. She added that Russia has repeatedly stated the neo-Nazi nature of the Ukrainian regime, but what Zelensky has done now is calling on countries to literally exclude athletes of Russian or Russian origin from the Olympic Games.

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