Investigation Reveals Russian Sports Federations' Activities in Occupied Ukraine

KYIV, UKRAINE, November 3, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Sports media platform Tribuna.com has published an investigation into the activities of Russian sports federations in occupied territories of Ukraine, focusing on ice hockey, field hockey, handball, judo, taekwondo, diving, and aquatics. The investigation, which draws on the federations' own websites, social media channels, and official documents, reveals ongoing involvement in sports despite the territories being under Ukrainian control.

The Russian Ice Hockey Federation announced a youth camp for December 2025 at the Artek children's center in Crimea. Additionally, a team from Luhansk, Dizel-LGUOR, participated in the 2025/26 under-18 championship of Russia's Southern Federal District. Federation first vice president Roman Rotenberg reported on his Telegram channel that he met Denis Pushilin, head of the Russian-installed administration in Donetsk, on May 13, and that an agreement on youth hockey with the Krasnaya Mashina Junior academy he founded was signed in June.

In field hockey, the Russian federation's approved 2026 calendar lists Crimean championships. A Crimean team was entered in the men's 5x5 Russian Cup in April 2026. The Russian handball federation's website lists organizations for Donetsk, Luhansk, Crimea, and Zaporizhzhia among its regional offices. Crimean teams play in the women's first league of the Russian championship.

Judo's regional map lists Sevastopol under Russia's Southern Federal District, and a seminar for coaches and referees took place in Donetsk in January 2026. The Taekwondo Union of Russia lists Crimean, Sevastopol, and Luhansk bodies in its member registry. Its 2026 national championship protocols list judges from Luhansk and Crimea, and athletes from Donetsk and Crimea. The Russian diving federation lists a Sevastopol federation among its regions. The Russian aquatics federation's development map marks Crimea, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk.

Tribuna.com previously covered a similar subject in chess in 2024, when it published Russian state registry extracts for six regional chess federations in occupied territories. In June 2026, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) suspended the Chess Federation of Russia over its activity in those territories.

Tribuna.com, a digital sports media company founded in 2010 in Ukraine by Dmitriy Navosha and Maks Berazinski, operates in 11 languages: Ukrainian, English, Russian, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Belarusian, Arabic, Polish, and Brazilian Portuguese. The platform employs more than 250 people across editorial teams in England, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Ukraine, Argentina, and Egypt. Its statistical database covers 800 football tournaments, over 32,000 teams, and 664,000 players. Tribuna also operates a network of club-dedicated fan apps and has a combined social media reach of over 100 million users.