Israel ignored calls from Ukraine to cancel the European Sambo Championships, held in Haifa this week, over the participation of Russian athletes, who have now dominated the competition through the first two days. In a Twitter post,the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel blasted the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarusia saying "We don't play with war criminals!"

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The embassy also criticized the tournament's sponsorship by Russian energy company Rosneft, which is under sanction by the European Union over Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Athletes from Russia, and their ally, Belarusia, were allowed to participate as "neutral" competitors and Russian samboists have won gold in 16 of the 21 divisions contested so far.