Ukrainian skeleton pilot Vladyslav Heraskevych has been disqualified from competing at the Milan Cortina Olympics for continuing to wear a helmet that commemorates the lives of Ukrainian athletes lost since Russia’s invasion. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced its decision to remove his accreditation before Heraskevych’s first heats of the men’s competition in Cortina d’Ampezzo on Thursday. The IOC allows Olympic athletes to wear black armbands and suggested Heraskevych do so to honor the Ukrainian victims. His helmet, bearing the portraits of fallen Ukrainian athletes, is about honour and remembrance. It is a reminder to the whole world of what Russian aggression is and the cost of fighting for independence.

Source: International New York Times February 12, 2026 16:37 UTC