Please find attached a copy of the appeal that the Ukrainian Football Association, the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine jointly sent to FIFA and UEFA. 

Dear President Infantino, Dear President Čeferin,

On behalf of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Football Association, we express our respect to you and, given the urgent circumstances, we consider it necessary to draw your attention to the following.

On May 7, 2026, at its meeting, the IOC Executive Board adopted a decision on the full resumption of the participation of Belarusian athletes in international competitions under the state flag, anthem, and national symbols, and also touched upon the issue of the possible return of Russian athletes to international competitions.

This happened at a time when, to our great regret, over four years of full-scale war, Russia, with the support of Belarus, has destroyed thousands of lives and homes, including hundreds of sports and, in particular, football facilities in Ukraine, and has taken the lives of more than 600 Ukrainian athletes, coaches and officials, and continues to do so every day, without showing any signs of striving for peace. In addition, the Russian Football Union has been deliberately and systematically violating international law and the 2014 UEFA decision on the inadmissibility of integrating clubs from temporarily occupied territories into domestic Russian competitions for several years.

It is worth noting separately that Belarus is and remains a recognized accomplice of the war by the European Parliament, PACE and the UN from the very beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, during this period it continues to support the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and contribute to the occupation of Ukrainian territories, and has recently even intensified its aggressive military rhetoric in official public communications. The territory of Belarus is consistently used to launch missiles and strike drones at Ukrainian cities, as well as for military logistics and support for the Russian army, conducting military exercises, the main goal of which is to create tension and put pressure not only on Ukraine, but also on neighboring European countries. In addition, joint nuclear exercises with Russia were recently launched on the territory of Belarus, which is an even more unacceptable and alarming gesture for the European and world community, going beyond the scope of a local threat to Eastern and Central Europe. 

At the same time, the current UN General Assembly Resolution ES-11/4 "Territorial Integrity of Ukraine: Protection of the Principles of the Charter of the United Nations" confirms the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine and calls not to recognize any attempts to change the status of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

Like FIFA and UEFA, in February 2022 the International Olympic Committee also responded to the military aggression against Ukraine and adopted a corresponding decision to suspend both Russian and Belarusian athletes, and in October 2023 - a decision to suspend the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) in connection with the violation of the territorial integrity of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine by including sports organizations from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in the structure of the ROC. The suspension remains in force to this day, and this decision set an important precedent regarding the application of the principle of territorial jurisdiction within the Olympic Movement and the need to ensure a consistent approach to compliance with the provisions of the Olympic Charter.

For its part, the Ukrainian side consistently supports the principles and values ​​of the Olympic Movement, enshrined in the Olympic Charter, as well as the need to ensure unity, autonomy, integrity and consistent application of the norms of international sports governance.

Since 2022, the situation in the military and humanitarian context has not changed, therefore, there is no reason to change the IOC's position on the return of Belarusian representatives to international sports under national symbols or the resumption of participation in international competitions for Russian representatives.

The position of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Football Association remains reasonably unchanged - as long as hostilities continue in Ukraine, destroying the country's infrastructure and causing irreparable suffering and deaths to its civilian population due to war crimes committed by Russia with the assistance of Belarus, the return of representatives of these countries to international sports arenas should not be allowed by world sports governing bodies.

In connection with the above, we ask FIFA and UEFA not to change the current decision and sanctions against Russia, and we express our belief that in football, similar sanctions should be applied to Belarus as to the Russian Football Union.

We highly value the role of FIFA and UEFA as the world and European governing bodies of football in ensuring the integrity of world sport, and look forward to further constructive dialogue and cooperation, in particular within the framework of the Olympic Charter.

Sincerely,

President of the NOC of Ukraine Vadym Gutzeit,

Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine Matviy Bidny, 

President of the UAF Andriy Shevchenko.