After being disqualified from the Olympics, skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych plans to raise funds for the families of the fallen Ukrainians painted on his helmet.

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.

MILAN (AP) — Anastasia Kucherova, a Russian living in Milan, voiced her opposition to Russia’s war against Ukraine with a highly symbolic, if at first anonymous, act: Carrying the Ukraine team placard during the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina Winter Games.

Heraskevych was disqualified from competition because of his commemorative helmet, which honors Ukrainian athletes and coaches who died during Russia's invasion.

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

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

Ukraine blamed a Russian disinformation campaign Thursday after fake news posted online about its Winter Olympics team, including a story criticising an athlete disqualified for trying to highlight war deaths.

Ukraine said Wednesday that its officials will not attend the Winter Paralympics next month over the decision by organizers to allow a handful of Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their

Vladyslav Heraskevych's "helmet of remembrance" was banned by the IOC, with the Ukrainian losing a subsequent appeal to CAS.

While "AIN" may appear as a country code at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, it doesn't actually represent a nation at all.