Dmitry Beshenets (Russia)
Sport: Ju-Jitsu
Status: Admitted to the XII World Games 2025 (Chengdu, China)
Russian citizen Dmitry Beshenets has been admitted to participate in the XII World Games 2025 in Chengdu, China.
Publicly available information indicates that Beshenets openly supports Russia’s war against Ukraine. He is subscribed to pro-war pages on the Russian social network VKontakte (see screenshots and archived links referenced below).
In addition, as a coach, he has involved children in activities linked to war propaganda. He reported on his resources about his students’ participation in tournaments held under the auspices of the “Dynamo” sports society and in events organised in support of the Russian Airborne Forces.
Such activities raise serious concerns regarding compliance with neutrality standards applicable to athletes from aggressor states and demonstrate the use of sport as a vehicle for promoting military narratives.
Ukraine calls for review and verification of this information and for appropriate measures to prevent the participation of the above-mentioned athlete in the World Games.
Sources:
– VKontakte subscriptions (pro-war pages):
screenshots: beshenets1.png
link (section “Following”)
– Participation of students in Dynamo tournaments:
screenshots: beshenets2.png
link
archived link
– Participation in events supporting Russian Airborne Forces:
screenshots: beshenets3.png, beshenets4.png
link 1
archived link 1
link 2
archived link 2
Official letter of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and the Ju-Jitsu Association of Ukraine: