Russian woman carried Ukraine's sign at 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Foreign Ministry indignant
During the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, russian Anastasia Kucherova carried the sign of the Ukrainian team. She herself chose Ukraine, although the countries were initially randomly assigned. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called the International Olympic Committee sadists.
This was reported by the Associated Press.
Russian Anastasia Kucherova is an architect and has lived in Milan for 14 years and is said to have not visited russia since 2018. In the standard costume for country sign carriers - a long silver down coat with a hood and dark glasses - her identity was unrecognizable, and had not been previously announced to the public.
At the opening ceremony, she led five Ukrainian athletes competing in Milan to the San Siro stadium to loud ovations from the audience, who welcomed the athletes of Ukraine. At the same time, the Milan delegation was led by flag bearer Yelyzaveta Sydorko, a Ukrainian short track speed skater, as well as figure skater Kyrylo Marsak. The parents of both athletes are fighting on the front lines of the war.
"It seems that the IOC is not just idiots, but outright sadists," said Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hryhorii Tykhyi.
It is reported that at first the countries were randomly assigned, but later the choreographer asked if the volunteers had any preferences, and Kucherova chose Ukraine. She first told her role to her 879 followers on Instagram, and then in an interview with The Associated Press.
"When you walk next to these people, you understand that they have every right to feel hatred for any russian. Nevertheless, I think it is important to take at least a small step to show them that, perhaps, not all people think the same way," the russian woman said.
The publication calls this action a "small act of resistance." The Ukrainians, not knowing that they were in front of a russian woman, immediately recognized her origin and addressed her in russian. Kucherova, on the other hand, considers this a sign of the "deep connection" between russians and Ukrainians, "which, obviously, could exist if it were not for the war." Before entering the stadium, the russian woman turned to the Ukrainians and said that the entire stadium would applaud them standing. According to her, the Ukrainians looked skeptical.
Kucherova also held a poster of another delegation, Denmark, which also received a standing ovation for resisting U.S. threats to seize Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory. Kucherova called it a coincidence.
Recall that on February 9, at the Olympics, Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych was criticized for wearing a helmet with portraits of deceased Ukrainian athletes. On February 12, Heraskevych was disqualified immediately before the first race.
It should be noted that Heraskevych emphasized that the IOC's disqualification for wearing a "memory helmet" helps russia's propaganda, which celebrates it: "I believe this is because russia will return to the Olympics, and the IOC is putting a lot of pressure on Ukrainians."
Meanwhile, ten athletes from russia and Belarus have received invitations to the Winter Paralympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo and will compete under their national flags, a first since the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi.
And the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed Heraskevych's claim against the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF).