Russians will miss the European kickboxing championship: expelled two days before the start.

Russian athletes will not be able to participate in the European kickboxing championship, which was supposed to take place in Chisinau from June 22 to 29. More than 100 kickboxers from Russia were excluded from the competition under the auspices of the World Kickboxing Federation (WKF) due to the impossibility of holding the championship with their participation in Moldova.

"Two days before the start of the European kickboxing championship, the Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Moldova issued a statement about the impossibility of holding the European championship in Moldova with the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes," - reported the Russian Kickboxing Federation.

The Federation accused the WKF of facilitating the participation of Russian athletes without adhering to international sanctions and the signed cooperation agreement with the Russian Kickboxing Federation. There is currently no official response from the WKF regarding these restrictions.

Controversial actions of Russian athletes

One of the Russian kickboxers, Mira Andreeva, expressed support for the occupiers from the pro-Putin organization "People's Front" and communicated with a person linked to sanctioned organizations from the EU, Canada, Switzerland, and Ukraine. These actions of Russian athletes outraged the public and received criticism online.

Russian athletes were banned from participating in the European kickboxing championship in Moldova due to the impossibility of holding competitions with their involvement. The Russian Kickboxing Federation accused the WKF of dishonesty, but there is still no official position from the WKF regarding these restrictions. Additionally, dubious actions by individual Russian athletes have provoked public outrage.

The Ukrainian Kickboxing Federation has joined the list of countries banned from participating in the European championship due to political conflicts and adverse circumstances.