Since February 2022, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the country has been at the centre of one of the conflicts that has most profoundly shaped international affairs in recent years. Nearly four and a half years after the beginning of the war, at a time that remains extremely delicate for the country, Calcio e Finanza had the pleasure and honour of interviewing Matvii Bidnyi, Ukraine’s Minister of Youth and Sports.Bidnyi’s work focuses on youth policy, the development of sport and physical activity, as well as the strengthening of Ukraine’s national and civic identity—issues that have taken on even greater significance in light of the circumstances the country is facing.Before being appointed Minister, Bidnyi served as Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, gaining extensive experience within the state administration. Throughout his career, he has focused in particular on physical activity, non-Olympic sports and sports policy, building a professional background that combines public administration, sports management and the development of national strategies for youth.In his interview with Calcio e Finanza, the Minister addressed a wide range of issues: from the need to maintain Russia’s isolation within the international sports system to the role of leading Ukrainian athletes in representing the country and giving it a voice, as well as the distinctly Italian controversy surrounding Andrea Pirlo’s failed appointment as head coach of the Italian national team.Question. Minister Bidnyi, before moving on to more international issues, there is a distinctly Italian matter that has dominated the debate in recent weeks and also touches on Ukraine. Andrea Pirlo had been chosen as head coach of the Italian national team, but the Federation subsequently deemed the appointment inappropriate because the former midfielder has a sponsorship agreement with a Russian betting company. What is your view on the matter?Answer. We fully support the Italian Football Federation’s decision. It’s a strong and principled stand. Any commercial ties with Russian businesses, including betting companies, directly or indirectly support the war against Ukraine.Every federation, city, and sports organization can counter Russian influence in their own capacity. When thousands of these decisions add up, the aggressor is truly isolated. We hope this sets a precedent for other European sports bodies to put ethics above business.Q. Moving on to matters more directly related to Ukraine, after four and a half years of war, what is the situation in the country? We have also recently seen some government reshuffles. What is the overall situation today, four and a half years after the start of Russia’s invasion?A. These four and a half years have shown that Ukraine is a strong and resilient country. We have a fully functioning economy and labor market, along with all the signs of normal life. But, of course, the threats and daily attacks continue to kill our people. Every night there are sirens, ballistic missiles, and drones, and none of this has stopped.In the territories closer to the front line and the border with Russia, these terrorist attacks are becoming increasingly frequent. Odesa, for example, is being subjected to heavy and continuous attacks involving different kinds of missiles and weapons systems. You know that the situation in our ports is quite difficult. Russia is trying to stop our grain exports and has already killed around 20 civilian crew members and port workers, including foreign nationals, aboard ships operating in and around our ports.Russia continues to kill not only Ukrainians. It continues to carry out terrorist acts. Naturally, we need the support of Europe and the entire world to stop this aggressor, because it will not stop in Ukraine. This is not only about Ukraine’s security but about the security of the whole world and our values. It is very important to understand this.Q. In general terms, we see that European countries are very close to Ukraine, while countries on other continents, such as the United States and China, seem less so. Do you feel this support from European countries, and how important is it to you?A. Certainly. Europe continues to be Ukraine’s closest friend, and it is clear that we are in the same boat. We are on the same wavelength and share the same values. We have a common view of how the world is governed and how it should progress. This is not just a problem for Ukraine, and it is extraordinary to have such strong partnerships. Europe has the dignity not to pursue merely short-term advantages, but long-term values and principles. We have experience of great wars, and we should do everything possible to prevent such a prospect from returning.Q. Do you in any way feel that Ukraine has been left alone by the United States, or that the U.S. is less interested in the consequences of the Russian invasion?A. No. I believe we have strong support from the United States and the presidential administration. Recent meetings have shown that the United States continues to be a strong ally of Ukraine. We truly appreciate the efforts and support of the United States.Q. Why, then, are you concerned about the specific situation developing in the world of sport?A. In sport, the picture is not as positive. Unfortunately, we can see that international sports organizations, and especially the IOC (International Olympic Committee), are acting as a pressure-release valve. They are weakening the pressure that international organizations and countries are exerting on Russia through sanctions and economic measures aimed at stopping this war and the aggression. The IOC is functioning as a pressure-release valve, undermining the collective strength that the international community has built against the aggression.Q. You mentioned the importance of isolating Russia from elite sport. Why do you believe it is more important to isolate Russia rather than use sport as a tool to engage in dialogue and perhaps reach an understanding? Since the era of ping-pong diplomacy in the 1970s, sport has always played an important role in unlocking difficult geopolitical situations. Why is it still important to isolate Russia instead of reintegrating it and opening a dialogue?A. Because Russia does not want to stop. It has had every opportunity and many reasons to stop. It has had many chances to do so in an appropriate way, but it does not want to stop because it needs this war. For them, it is very important to show their own population a semblance of normality. That is also why our forces are now striking their internal infrastructure and fuel stations. All Russians must understand that this situation concerns them as well. It concerns the entire Russian population.Russian athletes are not victims in this regard. The leading Russian athletes are fully integrated into the state propaganda machine. Many hold official military ranks in CSKA (Central Sports Club of the Army), within the very military apparatus that bombs Ukrainian cities every day. There can be no neutrality without peace. One cannot claim to be neutral while receiving funding from the aggressor state and remaining silent in the face of atrocities.Russia has always used sporting success as proof of its power. Reintegrating Moscow into the international sporting community is like allowing them to say: “Look, we are part of the respected international sporting community. We are strong. We win sporting competitions and Olympic Games.” This encourages the domestic population and reinforces the idea that Russia is a strong empire respected by everyone. I believe we should limit this. You cannot provide a stage for criminals.Q. So, if I understand correctly, since it is important to make the Russian people understand that the war also has consequences inside their own country, you are carrying out military strikes against targets on Russian territory. At the same time, in terms of soft power, excluding them from sporting competitions is another way to make them feel isolated and affect their personal lives. Is that correct?A. It is not about targeting individual citizens, but about responsibility, safety, and reality. International sports cannot pretend it is “business as usual” while Russian bombs are destroying Ukrainian cities and killing our athletes and coaches. Excluding Russian teams is not a measure to simply affect someone’s personal life — it is a necessary boundary to stop Russian state propaganda from using sports to legitimize an illegal war.At the same time, society cannot remain isolated from the actions of its government. Every Russian needs to face the reality that their state is committing war crimes, and that the world clearly condemns these actions. Society must realize that this is not about some generic political debate, but about severe international crimes that have real consequences.Q. How did you feel when the International Olympic Committee announced that it was considering the reintegration of Russians into some competitions? What will your next steps be to oppose this decision?A. It is a real disappointment. An enormous disappointment. The IOC’s decision to lift restrictions on Russia is completely unjust and profoundly disrespectful toward the hundreds of Ukrainian athletes killed by Russian forces and toward the entire national sporting community.The legal trick used by Russia is very simple, and I simply do not believe that the IOC is unable to understand it. In December 2024, the Russian Olympic Committee quietly removed the entire category of regional councils from its statutes. The inclusion of the occupied Ukrainian regions had been the reason for the restrictions.They removed all 89 regions at once because directly removing only the occupied Ukrainian regions would have meant admitting that they were not really Russian, and that is an undeniable truth. Instead, they deleted every region to conceal their illegal occupation. The IOC is turning a blind eye to all of this.The previous IOC leadership understood this trick and maintained the sanctions. Today, however, the new leadership under Kirsty Coventry is using exactly this manipulation as a pretext to bring Russia back into competition. I believe this is a highly controversial choice.Q. What concrete actions do you intend to take, as the Ukrainian government, to address this situation?A. In recent months, together with our National Olympic Committee and the sports federations, we have sent 30 official appeals to international sports federations. There can be no lifting of restrictions while Russia continues its full-scale war, killing people and destroying cities.We are working with our international partners, governments, ministers, and the European Commission. The new sanctions package includes some Russian officials. Among them are the Russian Minister of Sport, Mikhail Degtyarev, and the President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), Arkady Dvorkovich. This is a clear signal that Europe understands and acknowledges the evidence of their crimes and propaganda activities.Furthermore, the new package establishes the legal framework for a comprehensive EU visa ban targeting combatants and ex-combatants of the Russian forces and proxy groups, which directly applies to athletes who have taken part in this war. Europe is sending a strong and clear signal to international sports organisations. Sports arenas can exist only within an environment founded on the rule of law, European values of peace and the international order. These stages should not be used as instruments of Russian propaganda or in ways that contradict the broader efforts being made throughout Europe.Q. This may sound cynical, but could there be an economic motive behind the IOC’s decision? Russia is a very large country and can provide a great deal of money for the Olympics, World Championships, or other competitions. Is that a mistaken interpretation, or could there also be considerations of that kind?A. Russia has always believed it could buy everything and everyone. It can spend a great deal of money and deploy considerable resources. For people who have no honor or self-respect, this can be a decisive factor.Fortunately, however, the majority of European leaders and sports officials do not operate that way. We hope that the international sporting community will recognize its responsibility toward the broader European and global context.Q. So, if in two or three years, with the war still ongoing, we were to see Russian teams participating in European competitions, that would be a very negative political signal for you?A. Certainly. Returning to the IOC’s decision, we provided them with extensive evidence of Russia’s actions in our occupied territories. For example, as recently as June, Russia organized the “Stars of Crimea” tournament, a women’s competition held in occupied Alushta for girls aged 13 to 15, organized together with the Russian Aquatic Sports Federation. The latter is part of the Russian Olympic Committee.They invited the so-called “veterans of the special military operation,” fighters who took up arms to attack Ukraine. Through sport, Russia is directly using people who have killed Ukrainian citizens to brainwash children in our occupied territories. What further evidence does the IOC need to recognize and understand its responsibility for all these crimes?Q. Turning to your direct responsibilities as Minister of Youth and Sport, four and a half years of war have clearly caused enormous damage to Ukrainian sport, its stadiums, and sports organizations. What is the current situation for athletes and sports facilities?A. So far, 760 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed. More than 915 sports facilities have been damaged or completely destroyed. The conditions for sports training in Ukraine are, naturally, far from ideal.Even the most basic aspect—the number of hours of sleep people can get. Every night, several air raid sirens sound, and we have to go to shelters. We all remember the energy terrorism of this winter, when our cities were left without electricity.Russia has tried, and we know it is planning, to create something resembling genocide in our peaceful cities, especially Kyiv. It is trying to cut off energy supplies and heating and to strike our power plants. If you have to train in a gym where the temperature is close to freezing and sleep under three or four blankets, the conditions are obviously extremely difficult.Q. I imagine this tragedy will have consequences for many years. I am also thinking about the situation in schools and children who cannot go to the gym or play sports. Are you concerned about the risk of a lost generation from a sporting point of view as well?A. Yes, of course. It is difficult for us. My own children, for example, sometimes spend half of the school day in air raid shelters. They continue their lessons there, but unfortunately it is not as effective as being in a classroom.It is also difficult to find opportunities to train when gyms are extremely cold in winter and lack ventilation in summer. Fortunately, our energy system and our government are making every effort to normalize life in cities such as Kyiv.In cities such as Kharkiv or Kherson, however, it is absolutely impossible because attacks continue throughout the day. Kherson is a place where drones hunt peaceful civilians. People cannot even go for a run or walk down the street because the city is too close to Russian forces and the battlefield. They use drones to hunt our citizens and train their fighters. It is therefore extremely difficult to prepare and train.Q. Even during the Soviet Union, Ukraine was always one of the leading nations in sport. I remember athletes such as Oleg Blokhin. Then, after independence, in football there were Andriy Shevchenko and Serhiy Rebrov. How important is it to have figures such as the former AC Milan striker and Ballon d’Or winner promoting Ukraine’s cause abroad?A. Without any doubt, sporting success has always been part of the Ukraine brand. Our great champions, such as Oleksandr Usyk, Elina Svitolina, and Marta Kostyuk, are now telling the whole world the truth about what is happening in Ukraine.They represent a very important part of our image, our international relations, and our representation abroad. It is extremely important for us, and we continue to carry forward our proud sporting tradition.Q. In recent days there have been many demonstrations against the Zelensky government in Kyiv, and there has also been a government reshuffle. What is the current situation?A. The situation in Ukraine is that of a country at war, but we remain a democratic country. Everything that has happened over the past few weeks has taken place within the legal framework. It was simply the way in which our people expressed their will and their opinions.No one was prevented from doing so, and no aggressive action was taken against the demonstrators. It is a normal process. Naturally, during a war, tensions and emotions within society are very high.