Three Russian artistic gymnasts — Angelina Melnikova, Viktoria Listunova, and Anna Kalmykova — have been denied visas to the Netherlands ahead of the Oct. 17-25 World Championships, the Russian Gymnastics Federation said on Telegram earlier today. Two have publicly backed Russian government policies, while a third is believed to have ties to Rosgvardiya, Russia’s National Guard, a separate internal-security force that reports directly to Vladimir Putin.
The federation said the three leading Russian gymnasts were denied visas four days before the start of the competition in Rotterdam, where the first team qualification spots for the 2028 Olympics will be awarded. It quoted the reason given for the refusals:
“One or more Schengen-area member states consider the athletes a threat to their international relations.”
Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev said the Russian Olympic Committee would appeal to the International Olympic Committee and World Gymnastics, the sport’s international governing body, demanding that the Rotterdam event be stripped of its Olympic qualifying status.
Kyiv has accused all three gymnasts of either supporting Russia’s full-scale invasion or having links to Russian security institutions.
In Melnikova’s case, in 2025 Ukraine’s Ministry of Youth and Sports called for the 2020 Olympic champion to be stripped of her neutral status, saying she had posted photos featuring the letter Z, a symbol widely used in support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The ministry also said she held “charity” training sessions for the children of Russian occupation forces and helped raise money for the daughter of a Russian serviceman.
Ukrainian authorities also noted that Melnikova represents CSKA, a sports club subordinate to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, which they said means she has a contractual relationship with the Russian Armed Forces. In addition, in 2025 Melnikova ran for a seat on the Voronezh City Duma as a candidate for the ruling United Russia party.
Viktoria Listunova took part in a March 2022 rally-concert attended by Vladimir Putin shortly after the start of the full-scale invasion. The event marked what the Kremlin calls the “anniversary of Crimea’s reunification with Russia” (its euphemism for the illegal invasion and subsequent annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014). Listunova appeared at the event wearing a jacket emblazoned with the letter Z; she was 16 at the time. According to Ukraine’s Sports Ministry, she also raised money for the family of a Russian serviceman killed in the war.
According to Ukraine’s Sports Ministry, Anna Kalmykova competes for Moscow’s Dynamo club and is under contract with Rosgvardiya, whose units have taken part in the invasion and occupation of Ukraine.
Other Russian gymnasts from both the women’s and men’s teams also applied for Dutch visas. The Russian Gymnastics Federation said three of the six Russian women — Alyona Glotova, Lyudmila Roshchina, and Milana Kayumova — were granted entry documents by the Netherlands. Elizaveta Us, who was listed as an additional reserve, also received a visa.
Five of the six male gymnasts who applied received visas as well. The federation said 47 of the 61 members of Russia’s delegation were granted permission to travel to the world championships in Rotterdam.
