Putin's associate has taken charge of a sports federation, prompting Ukraine to announce plans for a staged "election."

The Ukrainian Fencing Federation (UFC) and the entire Ukrainian fencing community are outraged by the decision of the Congress of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) to elect Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov as FIE president. The Russian has been sanctioned by the European Union following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The UFC posted a relevant statement on its Facebook page. In Ukraine, the FIE presidential elections are considered staged since they took place in Usmanov's homeland. Furthermore, prior to the elections, FIE management circulated a letter indicating overwhelming support for Usmanov from the majority of national federations. It should be noted that Usmanov won the election against Swedish candidate Otto Drakenberg — 120 votes to 26.

"The choice of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, as the Congress venue – Usmanov's homeland, and the premature distribution of a letter by FIE management expressing support for Usmanov from over 100 national federations clearly indicated a pre-written script.

The UFC has long recognized that appealing to conscience and humanity does not impress foreign sports officials. Consequently, in addition to protests, the UFC will respond to all unlawful and immoral actions in a legal manner and will proceed accordingly. These actions have ensured our athletes' participation in the Olympics and the absence of Russians", — the statement reads.

As a reminder, the Ukrainian sabre fencing team (Olga Kharlan, Elena Kravatska, Alina Komashchuk, and Yulia Bakastova) defeated the South Korean team with a score of 45:42 in the final of the Olympic team tournament in Paris. Additionally, Kharlan won the bronze medal in the individual competition.