Russian wrestlers illegally visited Crimea for a propaganda event
On March 23, 2026, decorated Russian athletes illegally entered the territory of annexed Crimea to participate in a propaganda event at the Artek International Children’s Center.
This was reported by Russian media.
Among the event’s participants were Olympic champion and two-time world champion Musa Yevloyev, world champion and two-time European champion Sergey Semenov, Olympic bronze medalist, multiple U20 world and European champion Ali Ilyasov, and U20 world champion Erzu Zakriev.
According to the publication, the Russian athletes entered the peninsula by bypassing Ukraine’s customs and border controls, which constitutes a violation of Ukrainian law.
Previously, the International Federation of Sport Climbing (World Climbing) granted neutral status to Russian military athletes, including: Elizaveta Ivanova, Nikolai Yarylovets, Elena Krasovskaya, Dmitry Fakiryanov, Viktoria Meshkova, and Vladislav Shevchenko. However, the federation’s rules prohibit neutral athletes from having ties to Russian military structures. At the same time, one of the neutral athletes, Milana Melnichenko, liked a post on Instagram supporting dictator Vladimir Putin.
