Ukraine denies Viktor Petrenko, who skated in Russia

Viktor Petrenko, who won a gold medal at the 1992 Winter Games, was shunned by Ukrainian figure skating officials — and by President Volodymyr Zelensky — after playing in Sochi, Russia.

As Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February, Viktor Petrenko, one of the champions Ukraine's most prominent Olympic Games, posted the message "NO WAR" on his Instagram account. Account. A few days later, Petrenko's daughter said her father had been stranded in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, where he had taken refuge after returning from a commemoration of his 1992 Olympic figure skating title which had took place in his hometown, Odessa.

Petrenko seemed like one of many Ukrainian athletes who would defiantly serve as wartime ambassadors for their nation besieged. But since then, his reputation as a champion has deteriorated in his native country.

In June, Petrenko announced his intention to leave the Ukrainian figure skating federation. A day later, he was provisionally expelled, a federation official said. And in July, Petrenko was officially ousted and fired as vice president, after performing at an ice show in Sochi, Russia.

Monday, The Office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Zelensky had stripped Petrenko of a monthly stipend given to top athletes and other highly successful Ukrainians, citing Petrenko's performance in Russia.

The ice show was organized by Tatiana Navka, Olympic champion in ice dancing in 2006, wife of Dmitry S. Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremlin. In March, the United States Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Peskov and Navka for their ties to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin and said Navka had a real estate empire worth more than $10 million. .

ImageTatiana Navka, who hosted an ice show in Sochi, Russia, has won gold in ice dancing at the 2006 Winter Olympics with partner, Roman Kostomarov.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times

Another skater on the show, called 'The Scarlet Flower', is Kamila Valieva, the Russian teenager whose positive test for a banned substance was made public during the Beijing Olympics in February and who missed her last routine of the Games under the weight of international scrutiny. The show is set to run through September, although it's unclear if Petrenko is still playing it.

In January, before the war started, Petrenko posted on Instagram that he was performing in St. Petersburg, Russia. But the Ukrainian skating federation said it was "outraged" by Petrenko's skating in Russia after the invasion.

"The former athlete made his shameful decision ...