President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree that stops the payment of state scholarships to a number of well-known Ukrainian athletes, including Olympic champion Serhiy Bubka and swimmer Yana Klochkova. The decision was published on the website of the President of Ukraine.
The document "On Some Issues of State Scholarship Payments" No. 967/2025 came into effect at the moment of its publication. According to the decree, payments are suspended for several prize-winners of the Olympic, Paralympic, and Deaflympic games, such as Yevhen Braslavets, Yuriy Yermakov, Illia Kvasha, Valerii Lozik, Ihor Matviyenko, and Inna Frolova.
Reasons for Scholarship Deprivation
The decision to stop payments is related to the requirements of the regulation, according to which sports scholarships can be terminated if the athlete does not reside in the territory of Ukraine. This issue was emphasized by Olympic champion and Member of Parliament Zhan Beleniuk, noting that the requirements for state scholarships are quite obvious.
Controversial Political Issues
History and dirty political accusations are also potentially behind these decisions. In 2023, the publication Bihus.Info reported that Serhiy Bubka was involved with the company "Montblanc," which cooperates with the occupiers in temporarily occupied territories. In response, Bubka announced his intent to file a lawsuit against the editorial team regarding this investigation.
Yana Klochkova, on the other hand, remains silent on political events and, according to media reports, has been in occupied Crimea since 2022.
