With the Covid-19 pandemic ongoing and tensions rising between Russia and the Ukraine, Ukrainian athletes have more than just the 2022 Beijing Winter Games to think about. 

The conflict between the neighboring countries Ukraine and Russia have been ongoing since 2014, but in recent months, Russian troops have been congregating in mass along the Russian/Ukraine border.

With the Olympics in Beijing, the 45 participating Ukrainian athletes were instructed by their government to shun their Russian competitors and avoid standing near them while holding the Ukrainian flag. Ukraine wants to avoid a repetition of the incident during the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. At the Tokyo games, 19-year-old Ukrainian high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh was criticized when she hugged a Russian athlete after they had both won medals in the Women’s high jump. The Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister viewed the embrace as a careless action given the current circumstances between the two countries. Intense federal recommendations, and the overall conflict, have been weighing heavily on the mental health of Ukrainian athletes while they are away in China.

The Olympics aids as a distraction to the rest of the world for Russia to invade the Ukraine like they did to Crimea shortly after they hosted the Sochi games in 2014. Day by day, the citizens and athletes of the Ukraine, Russia, and rest of the world will be not only watching the events in Beijing, but the geopolitical crisis between NATO and Putin.

Dan Stewart  

Featured Image: Ukrainian Athletes leading their team during the opening ceremonies of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing China. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)