Tribuna.com Publishes Investigation Into Russian Federations in Occupied Ukraine

First part covers seven sports and draws on federation websites, calendars and competition documents

KYIV, UKRAINE, November 3, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Sports media platform Tribuna.com has published the first part of an investigation into the activity of Russian sports federations in the occupied territories of Ukraine. It covers ice hockey, field hockey, handball, judo, taekwondo, diving and aquatics, and draws on the federations’ own websites, social media channels and official documents.

The investigation was published as Russian teams return to international competition. Russian teams are set to take part in International Ice Hockey Federation events in 2026-27, including the World Junior Championship in Canada from December 26 and the men’s World Championship in Germany in May 2027. In July, the International Olympic Committee provisionally lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, saying it no longer includes regional sports organizations in territories under the jurisdiction of Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee. The Tribuna.com investigation looks at the national federations that run each sport.

Key findings

• Ice hockey
The Russian Ice Hockey Federation announced a youth camp for December 2025 at the Artek children’s center in Crimea. A team from Luhansk, Dizel-LGUOR, played in the 2025/26 under-18 championship of Russia’s Southern Federal District. Federation first vice president Roman Rotenberg reported on his Telegram channel that he met Denis Pushilin, head of the Russian-installed administration in Donetsk, on May 13, and that an agreement on youth hockey with the Krasnaya Mashina Junior academy he founded was signed in June.

• Field hockey
The Russian federation’s approved 2026 calendar lists Crimean championships. A Crimean team was entered in the men’s 5×5 Russian Cup in April 2026.

• Handball
The Russian federation’s website lists organizations for Donetsk, Luhansk, Crimea and Zaporizhzhia among its regional offices. Crimean teams play in the women’s first league of the Russian championship.

• Judo
The Russian federation’s results pages list “Battle of Cities. Novorossiya 2025” in Simferopol, with teams from Crimea, Sevastopol, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia, and a 2026 national competition in Simferopol whose title refers to the “reunification of Crimea with Russia.” A seminar for coaches and referees took place in Donetsk in January 2026.

• Taekwondo
The Taekwondo Union of Russia lists Crimean, Sevastopol and Luhansk bodies in its member registry. Its 2026 national championship protocols list judges from Luhansk and Crimea, and athletes from Donetsk and Crimea.

• Diving and aquatics
The Russian diving federation lists a Sevastopol federation among its regions. The Russian aquatics federation’s development map marks Crimea, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk.

Earlier reporting
Tribuna.com covered the same subject in chess in 2024, when it published Russian state registry extracts for six regional chess federations in occupied territories. In June 2026, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) suspended the Chess Federation of Russia over its activity in those territories.
The new investigation uses the same type of material: federation webpages, competition protocols and calendars.

“Everything in this investigation comes from material the federations published themselves,” said Stanislav Oroshkevych, the author of the investigation. “Judo’s regional map lists Sevastopol under Russia’s Southern Federal District, handball gives a Melitopol address for its Zaporizhzhia branch, and field hockey lists Crimean championships in a calendar stamped by its president. Anyone can open these pages and check them.”

“Decisions about Russia’s return to international sport are being made right now, and we think the people making them should see these documents,” said Dmitriy Navosha, co-founder of Tribuna.com. “We have published the links and screenshots so that governing bodies and journalists can check every page for themselves.”

The full investigation (in Ukrainian), with links and screenshots for each finding, is available on Tribuna.com. Further parts will cover other sports.

About Tribuna.com

Tribuna.com is a digital sports media company founded in 2010 in Ukraine by Dmitriy Navosha and Maks Berazinski. The platform operates in 11 languages: Ukrainian, English, Russian, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Belarusian, Arabic, Polish and Brazilian Portuguese. It employs more than 250 people across editorial teams in England, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Ukraine, Argentina and Egypt. Its statistical database covers 800 football tournaments, over 32,000 teams and 664,000 players. Tribuna also operates a network of club-dedicated fan apps and has a combined social media reach of over 100 million users.

Iryna Chernukha
Tribuna.com
+357 95 123808
cher@tribuna.com
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