The Embassy of Ukraine in Tel Aviv called on the Israeli Ministry of Culture and Sports to cancel the European Sambo Championships, which began in Haifa, in which the national teams of Russia and Belarus take part.

"We protest to the Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Municipality of Haifa about the conduct of the European Sambo Championships. Russian and Belarusian athletes participate in the competition, sponsored by a Russian government organization boycotted by all Western countries," the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel said in a statement on its Facebook page on Wednesday.

"The extensive stage for these two criminal regimes is an insult to the memory of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens, including more than 220 Ukrainian athletes, who gave their lives in the fight for the future of a democratic European country. The Ukrainian side calls on the Israeli side to take all necessary measures to cancel and boycott the tournament," the embassy said in the statement.

As noted, "Russia uses competition as an ideological weapon to spread propaganda and whitewash its crimes."