At a youth tournament in Spain, Ukrainian karateka Yevgeny Melnik, who won bronze in the under-14 category, refused to shake hands with the tournament champion, Russian Igor Grigoriev, as was reported in a publication by the Ukrainian Karate Federation. He also refused to take a joint photo with the medalists.

Ukrainian athletes in most sports refuse to shake hands with Russians. The events that have had the greatest resonance are fencing and tennis competitions. Ukrainian athletes have repeatedly stated their desire to exclude Russians from any international competitions and their dissatisfaction with the fact that Russians calmly participate in tennis tournaments.

Earlier, two-time Olympic biathlon champion Dmitry Vasiliev said that Ukrainian figure skater Vadim Kolesnik might be crazy . The words came in response to the Ukrainian’s criticism of the admission of Russian citizens to the 2026 Olympics. In addition, Vasiliev added that the skater probably has a poor understanding of world news.

The Russian biathlete called for not paying attention to these situations and added that it would not be possible to sink Russia. He noted that the state is following its own path and can be an example for the rest of the world.