Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina for wearing a memorial helmet honoring Ukrainian athletes and coaches killed since the Russian invasion

The topic has become a debate during the 2026 Milan Cortina Games amid the conflicts involving Russia and Israel.

The Ukrainian skeleton racer who was disqualified from the Milan Cortina Olympics was given a gift of more than $200,000 on Tuesday to help him keep competing and advocating for his country.

Russia and Belarus are banned from competing as national teams at the 2026 Winter Olympics due to the war in Ukraine. However, select athletes from those countries are participating as Individual Neutral Athletes without flags,

Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych will not competeafter refusing a last-minute plea from the IOC to use a helmet other than the one that honors more than 20 of his country's athletes and coaches killed in the war with Russia.

Full list released of 20+ fallen Ukrainian athletes from Vladyslav Heraskevych’s banned Olympic helmet, documenting