A Russian woman in Milan made a quiet protest against the war by leading Ukraine’s Olympic team into the stadium.

Ukraine’s Vladyslav Heraskevych had his appeal dismissed as images on his helmet breached an Olympic ‘sacred principle’.

Who are AIN athletes at the Winter Olympics and is Russia banned? - Russia remain banned from competing as a nation but some individual athletes are permitted to participate in the Games under a neutr

Skeleton slider Vladyslav Heraskevych late on Monday said he had returned to Ukraine after being excluded from the Olympic competitions. In a video posted on X, the 27-year-old appeared to record himself in darkness in central Kiev.

One of the biggest stories to come to the forefront during the opening week of the 2026 Winter Olympics surrounded Ukrainian skeleton pilot Vladyslav Heraskevych, who was banned from competing because of his custom helmet.

A Ukrainian athlete has been disqualified from the Winter Olympics over his insistence on wearing a helmet honoring people killed in his country's war with Russia

Teammates show solidarity with Vladyslav Heraskevych, who says he is not violating IOC rules because remembrance is not a political statement.

Vladyslav Heraskevych, a skeleton sled racer, wore a helmet on Wednesday showing images of Ukrainian athletes killed defending his country against Russia's full-scale invasion. International Olympic Committee officials say the helmet violates rules designed to keep politics out of the Olympics.