Ukraine beats Russia at world’s top sports court

Ukraine has scored an important legal victory in its campaign to stop Moscow using sports events to whitewash its war crimes — winning a landmark case to prevent Russia from holding chess tournaments in occupied territories.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ordered the Russian Chess Federation (RCF) to cease all activity including organizing competitons in Ukrainian regions under Russian occupation: Crimea, Sevastopol, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

The judgment, published late last month, marks a significant victory for Kyiv’s sports authorities and sets a precedent around geopolitical conflict and international sport — an arena that Russia has used to burnish its reputation amid wider ostracization in the West following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Chess Federation (UCF) had appealed a ruling by an International Chess Federation (FIDE) committee, which concluded that the RCF violated Ukraine’s territorial integrity by organizing chess events in occupied regions — but only imposed a modest penalty of €45,000.

CAS overturned that sanction, citing its “evidently and grossly disproportionate” nature given the severity of the violations, and imposed a 90-day deadline for the RCF to halt its activities. The links between Russia and world chess historically run deep, and to Moscow’s critics, the game has become a soft power tool for the Kremlin to normalize and institutionalize its murderous occupation of its neighbor.

For Ukraine, the ruling represents more than a regulatory victory. UCF President Oleksandr Kamyshin — who is also a non-staff adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on strategic issues — called it “principle-setting,” emphasizing that international sports law now clearly recognizes Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

“CAS has confirmed that no international federation can turn a blind eye to actions that attempt to legitimize occupation,” Kamyshin told POLITICO. “It sends a strong signal that aggression cannot be normalized through sporting institutions.”

“This ruling significantly limits Russia’s ability to use sport as a tool to legitimize its occupation,” Kamyshin added. “Equally important, it establishes an important precedent: There is now a clear legal position that other federations can rely on in similar cases. This extends beyond chess. It sends a signal to all international sports organizations that legitimizing occupation through sport is unacceptable.”

Next steps

The legal campaign was led by Ukrainian grandmaster Andrii Baryshpolets and Danish Grandmaster and coach Peter Heine Nielsen, with support from American multinational law firm Covington & Burling, which provided pro bono representation.

Nielsen stressed both the symbolic and practical importance of the verdict. “This ruling demonstrates that no matter how the Kremlin may view these regions, they will not be considered part of Russia for everyday life, including sports, culture, or chess,” he said.

“It was important to establish that Russia organizing chess in occupied territories was not ‘humanitarian,’ as FIDE President [Arkady] Dvorkovich once described it. Russia organizes chess systematically in occupied territory and uses it for propaganda,” Nielsen added.

Ukraine’s Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi pointed out that the ruling reinforces Ukraine’s territorial integrity in the sporting sphere and lays the groundwork for additional lawsuits against Russian sports federations operating in occupied territories.

Ukrainian Youth and Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi is pictured during a press conference in Milan in February 2026. | Vitalii Kliuiev/Getty Images

The Russian side has signaled its intent to ignore the ruling. “We live according to the laws of the Russian Federation. We have complied with them, we are complying with them, and we will continue to comply with them,” Alexander Tkachev, executive director of the RCF, said, noting that the CAS ruling “contradicts Russian law.”

CAS stipulated in its judgment that non-compliance by the Russian Federation should result in the immediate suspension of its FIDE membership for three years. The decision forces Moscow to choose between halting its activities in occupied regions to regain some international sporting legitimacy — or continuing to use sports as a political tool and facing the consequences.

“What does FIDE do then?” Nielsen wondered, about a scenario in which the Russian side does comply with the decision. “By CAS decision, they should immediately suspend the Russian Federation’s membership. However, the more likely scenario is that the Russian-led federation will try to avoid that. I, honestly, do not know what happens next then.”

In a statement provided to POLITICO, FIDE said it “has taken note of the recent decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). As previously communicated in our official statement, FIDE respects the authority of CAS and will act in accordance with its rulings and the applicable FIDE regulations.”

“Compliance with the decision will be handled through FIDE’s established regulatory and governance processes. Any other matters related to the question would be addressed within this framework,” it added.