President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree to terminate state scholarship payments to a number of well-known Ukrainian athletes, including multiple Olympic swimming champion Yana Klochkova and Olympic pole vault champion Serhiy Bubka. This decision is due to non-compliance with the residency requirements for scholarship recipients and other circumstances.
According to the decree dated December 17, published on the President of Ukraine's website, payments were also terminated for Yevhen Braslavets, Ihor Matvienko, Valeriy Lozik, Yuriy Yermakov, and Inna Frolova. The main reason for the termination is the provision that state scholarships cannot be received by those not actually residing in Ukraine.
The Case of Yana Klochkova
In 2022, Yana Klochkova, a well-known Ukrainian swimmer, traveled to the temporarily occupied Crimea. She did not publicly express her stance on Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, which additionally influenced the presidential administration's decision. Media reports indicate that since the onset of the Russian invasion, Klochkova has remained silent and absent from the public sphere.
Serhiy Bubka and His Connections
Serhiy Bubka, former head of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, has spent considerable time abroad in recent years, including in Monaco. Furthermore, in 2023, it was revealed that he owns three companies registered in Russia, one of which supplied fuel to the temporarily occupied territories. This has led to accusations of collaboration with the occupying authorities.
Zhan Beleniuk, the Olympic champion in Greco-Roman wrestling, noted that in 2025 the scholarship amount for gold medalists was 12,112 hryvnias, which is related to the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons. He emphasized that such a scholarship applies only if residing in Ukraine.
