Olympic skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych has returned home to Ukraine and shared plans to raise funds for the families of the athletes and coaches depicted on the helmet that got him disqualified from the Milan Cortina Games.

Skeleton athlete Vladislav Heraskevych was previously banned from the Olympics for wearing a helmet depicting victims of the was in Ukraine.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — The five Ukrainian athletes who took part in the Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony in Milan were led out by an Italian-based Russian volunteer who disagrees with her country’s invasion of their neighbour.

Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych has returned to a Kyiv grappling with power, heating, and water disruptions, yet finds solace in being home after his disqualification from the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Ukraine has voiced outrage over a decision from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to bar their skeleton slider Vladyslav Heraskevych from competing at the Milan/Cortina Games over a helmet dispute.

The IOC announced its decision to remove his accreditation before Heraskevych's first heats Thursday in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) denied Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych's appeal of his disqualification from the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. The CAS agreed with the International Olympic Committee's assertion that Heraskevych's plan to wear a helmet honoring Ukrainian athletes killed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine would violate Olympic rules against making political statement on the field of play.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree on 16 February enacting a decision of the National Security and Defence Council regarding sanctions against 10 Russian athletes whom Kyiv