MOSCOW, February 25, Alexander Govorov. The decision to cancel the World Cup in cross-country skiing in Tyumen was accepted too quickly, said the coach of the Russian national team Yegor Sorin. Russia is deprived of the right to host the World Cup Final in cross-country skiing, which was to be held in Tyumen from March 18 to 20. Also, the stages of the World Cup in ski-cross (February 25-27, Chelyabinsk region), ski acrobatics (February 26-27, Yaroslavl), ski jumping among women (March 18-20, Nizhny Tagil, 25-27 March, Tchaikovsky).
"Of course, it's sad that this is happening. In Russia, there were few stages of the World Cup anyway, all athletes and spectators were waiting for this. Many acquaintances booked tickets, hotels, wanted to see our skiers. I don't understand why the decision was made so quickly. They start mixing sports with politics, it's hard for me to comment on what is happening now. Not very knowledgeable on this subject. All skiers are determined to finish the World Cup well. Recent events do not allow to relax, everyone is in suspense. This is not what we wanted after the Olympics. There were such successful results in Beijing, and upon arrival home, what was happening made me forget about the Olympics", Sorin said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday that, in response to an appeal from the leaders of the Donbass republics, he decided to hold a special military operation. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow's plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that the Russian military does not strike at the cities of Ukraine, military infrastructure is disabled by high-precision means. The civilian population is not in danger, the department assured.