MOSCOW, Feb. 27 German biathlete Eric Lesser said that in the Biathlon Union Russia (RBU) «decided to play the role of victims» after the sanctions of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) against Russian athletes. On Saturday, the IBU announced that the biathletes of the Russian and Belarus national teams will compete in the World Cup and IBU Cup as neutral athletes due to the situation at Ukraine. In addition, biathletes from Russia and Belarus will not receive points at the World Cup stages against the Nations Cup, and anthems, flags and uniforms with the symbols of these countries will be banned at the competitions. Later, the RBU announced that they had decided not to participate in competitions under the auspices of the IBU in connection with the sanctions against Russian biathletes. «We, as athletes, must be together and show everyone how the world should be. It's sad to hear that the Russian organization decided to play the role of victims and not participate in the next three stages of the World Cup. It is clear that everything could not continue as if nothing had happened. But this would help us show that we are united and stand for peace,» Lesser wrote on Instagram. Russian President Vladimir Putin On February 24, he announced that he had decided on a special military operation to demilitarize Ukraine. In a televised address to the Russians, he said that the circumstances «require decisive and immediate action from us, the people's republics of Donbass turned to Russia with a request for help.» On February 21, Putin signed decrees recognizing the sovereignty of the LPR and the DPR.
