{"id":2569358,"date":"2026-02-12T13:37:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T18:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/zelensky-rips-ioc-for-disqualifying-ukraine-olympian-over-helmet\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T13:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T18:40:10","slug":"zelensky-rips-ioc-for-disqualifying-ukraine-olympian-over-helmet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/zelensky-rips-ioc-for-disqualifying-ukraine-olympian-over-helmet\/","title":{"rendered":"Zelensky rips IOC for disqualifying Ukraine Olympian over helmet"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fzelensky-rips-ioc-for-disqualifying-ukraine-olympian-over-helmet%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2569358&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the International Olympic Committee after it disqualified Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych for wearing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/controversy-from-trumps-obama-video-wont-go-away-before-november-bob-cusack\/\" title=\"Controversy from Trump&#039;s Obama video won&#039;t &#039;go away&#039; before November: Bob Cusack\">helmet honoring athletes killed<\/a> since Russia\u2019s invasion began, at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo.The IOC said the disqualification followed Heraskevych\u2019s refusal to comply with guidelines on athlete expression and the rules of competition.<\/p>\n<p>Zelensky argued that sport should preserve memory and honour those affected by the war, not practice amnesia, and he thanked Heraskevych for taking a clear stand. IOC President Kirsty Coventry said the decision was about rules and safety in the field of play, noting the message was powerful but could not be expressed during competition; the IOC had even considered ways to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kermit-canceled-disney-slaps-offensive-content-label-on-the-muppet-show\/\" title=\"KERMIT CANCELED? Disney Slaps \u2018Offensive Content\u2019 Label On The Muppet Show\">pay homage<\/a> before the race but could not reach a solution.<\/p>\n<p>Zelensky highlighted Russia\u2019s ongoing violations of Olympic principles,pointing to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >past military actions<\/a> and the current invasion of Ukraine,and he criticized that hundreds of Ukrainian athletes have been killed while Russian athletes compete under neutral flags. He suggested Russians should face disqualification for their actions. Heraskevych defended his stance, calling it the price of dignity and criticizing perceived inconsistencies in IOC decisions.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Zelensky criticizes IOC for disqualifying Ukrainian Olympian for helmet honoring athletes killed in war<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2500378\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Ukrainian President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/volodymyr-zelensky\/\">Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a> ripped the International <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/olympics\/\">Olympic <\/a>Committee for disqualifying Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych for wearing a helmet honoring athletes killed since the beginning of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/russia-ukraine-war\/\">the war<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The IOC announced Thursday morning that it was disqualifying Heraskevych for his refusal to comply with the committee&rsquo;s guidelines on &ldquo;athlete expression.&rdquo; Zelensky said sports &ldquo;shouldn&rsquo;t mean amnesia,&rdquo; following the decision.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4456086\/russia-replaces-whatsapp-with-state-sanctioned-messaging-app\/\">Russia replaces WhatsApp access with state sanctioned messaging app<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4455931\/delcy-rodriguez-considering-us-visit-after-meeting-with-chris-wright\/\">Delcy Rodr&iacute;guez considering visit to US after meeting with energy secretary<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4455794\/congress-munich-conference-opportunity-rebuild-confidence-nato-allies\/\">Congress eyes Munich conference as opportunity to rebuild confidence among NATO allies<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;Sport shouldn&rsquo;t mean amnesia, and the Olympic movement should help stop wars, not play into the hands of aggressors,&rdquo; Zelensky <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ZelenskyyUa\/status\/2021918537271439597\">said in a statement on X<\/a>. &ldquo;This is certainly not about the principles of Olympism, which are founded on fairness and the support of peace.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Zelensky thanked Heraskevych for his &ldquo;clear stance,&rdquo; arguing the helmet was about &ldquo;remembrance.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is a reminder to the whole world of what Russian aggression is and the cost of fighting for independence,&rdquo; Zelensky said. &ldquo;And in this, no rule has been broken.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych holds his crash helmet as he stands in the mixed zone of the sliding center at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d&rsquo;Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo\/Alessandra Tarantino)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>IOC President Kirsty Coventry said she met with Heraskevych for a &ldquo;respectful&rdquo; conversation before he was disqualified.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Coventry said the decision was not about the message, but was based on the &ldquo;rules and regulations.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;No one &ndash; no one, especially me &ndash; is disagreeing with the messaging. The messaging is a powerful message. It&rsquo;s a message of remembrance. It&rsquo;s a message of memory,&rdquo; she <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/ioc\/news\/statement-by-ioc-president-kirsty-coventry-following-her-meeting-with-ukrainian-skeleton-pilot-vladyslav-heraskevych\">said in a statement<\/a>. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not about the messaging; it&rsquo;s literally about the rules and the regulations.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In this case &ndash; the field of play &ndash; we have to be able to keep a safe environment for everyone. And sadly, that just means no messaging is allowed,&rdquo; she added.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/sports\/4454526\/vance-advises-us-olympians-not-pop-off-political-takes\/\"><strong>VANCE AMPLIFIES US OLYMPIANS ARE NOT AT GAMES TO &lsquo;POP OFF&rsquo; ON POLITICAL TAKES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Zelensky called out <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/russia\/\">Russia<\/a> for &ldquo;constantly&rdquo; violating &ldquo;Olympic principles.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>He highlighted various Russian military actions taken following the Olympic Games, specifically pointing to Georgia in 2008, 2014, with the &ldquo;occupation&rdquo; of Crimea, and 2022 with the invasion of Ukraine.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is Russia that constantly violates Olympic principles, using the period of the Olympic Games to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-to-propose-massive-new-legislative-package-cost-to-be-borne-by-taxpayers\/\" title=\"Biden to propose massive new legislative package, cost to be borne by taxpayers\">wage war<\/a>,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And now, in 2026, despite repeated calls for a ceasefire during the Winter Olympics, Russia shows complete disregard, increasing missile and drone strikes on our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">energy infrastructure<\/a> and our people.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Roughly 660 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed since the conflict began in 2022, according to Zelensky.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He criticized Russian athletes being able to compete, while &ldquo;hundreds&rdquo; of dead Ukrainian athletes will &ldquo;never again&rdquo; be able to compete in any international competition.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Yet, 13 Russians are currently in Italy competing at the Olympics,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They compete under &ldquo;neutral&rdquo; flags at the Games, while in real life publicly supporting Russian aggression against Ukraine and the occupation of our territories.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And they are the ones who deserve disqualification,&rdquo; he added.<\/p>\n<p>Coventry said the IOC tried to find ways for Heraskevych to &ldquo;pay homage&rdquo; to the message on his helmet during their discussion.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We could find ways where we can pay homage to his message, to his helmet, before he races. And sadly, we&rsquo;ve not been able to come to that solution,&rdquo; she said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4449988\/trump-russia-ukraine-june-deadline-end-war-zelensky\/\"><strong>TRUMP GIVES RUSSIA AND UKRAINE JUNE DEADLINE TO END WAR: ZELENSKY<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Heraskevych posted on X following the IOC&rsquo;s decision, saying this is the &ldquo;price of our dignity,&rdquo; and argued that the committee has allowed other athletes to express grief during the Olympic Games.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"und\" dir=\"ltr\">&#1062;&#1077; &#1094;&#1110;&#1085;&#1072; &#1085;&#1072;&#1096;&#1086;&#1111; &#1075;&#1110;&#1076;&#1085;&#1086;&#1089;&#1090;&#1110;.<br \/>This is price of our dignity. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/00h3hlZs6i\">pic.twitter.com\/00h3hlZs6i<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Vladyslav Heraskevych OLY (@heraskevych) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/heraskevych\/status\/2021865169882620273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;I believe we didn&rsquo;t violate any rules,&rdquo; Heraskevych said. &ldquo;I see big inconsistencies in decisions, in the wording, in the press conferences of the IOC, and I believe it&rsquo;s the biggest problem that it&rsquo;s inconsistent.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zelensky blasts IOC over Ukrainian helmet ban<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3984,"featured_media":2569359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-collage-2c48t4jxz-1770916154944-e1770917747491.jpg?1770899807&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[13011,25453,4825,6991,8630],"class_list":["post-2569358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-helmet","tag-ioc","tag-olympics","tag-ukraine","tag-zelensky"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-collage-2c48t4jxz-1770916154944-e1770917747491.jpg?1770899807&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3984"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2569358"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2569362,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569358\/revisions\/2569362"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2569359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2569358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2569358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2569358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}