The Ukrainian Football Association has addressed an official letter to FIFA, UEFA and national associations in Europe requesting a review of the UEFA Executive Committee's decision regarding the readmission of Russian U-17 teams to international competitions.

"This decision is completely unexpected considering UEFA and FIFA’s resolute position since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. According to this stance, all Russian teams were excluded from any competition under these organizations' auspices. At that time, UEFA clearly stated that such a decision was necessary to ensure its statutory goals of promoting football in Europe in the spirit of peace and organizing tournaments with respect for players' health. The presidents of both organizations expressed their 'full solidarity with all affected people in Ukraine' and hoped that the situation in Ukraine would 'significantly and quickly improve so that football could once again become a vector of unity and peace among people.'

However, as is known to the entire world, the suffering of the Ukrainian people has only increased since then and continues to this day. While we fully support any actions aimed at helping children, this decision appears blind to the suffering of Ukrainian children. Russian soldiers continue to kill and abduct Ukrainian children and destroy civilian infrastructure, including thousands of schools and hundreds of stadiums and sports facilities, thereby destroying the possibility for Ukrainian children not only to engage in sports but also to live a normal life.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, hundreds of children—from newborns to teenagers—have been killed, thousands injured, and over 3000 cases involving crimes against children have been reported, including sexual violence. At least 19 thousand children were abducted from Ukraine and taken to Russia. Those who survived are still living under constant threat with rockets and shells continuing to fly overhead; they spend hours in cold underground bomb shelters and have very little opportunity to enjoy the freedom that players of Russian U-17 teams, who live and train in warm, safe, and peaceful cities, experience.

We emphasize that this war violates the rights of Ukrainian children, not those of Russian children, whose only problem is a lack of experience participating in international competitions in Europe.

At the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) during the review of the Russian Football Union's appeal to UEFA, it was clearly stated, considering public opinion regarding Russia’s invasion, that 'regardless of age, UEFA considers it irresponsible to put Russian athletes in a situation where they may encounter significant negative reactions not only physically but also on other forums, including social media.' Since the situation has worsened over the past 18 months according to UEFA's reasoning, the latest decision is deemed 'irresponsible.'

At CAS, UEFA also clearly stated that the refusal of member associations to play against Russia’s national team threatens the integrity of competitions and that excluding Russian teams was 'necessary' to achieve statutory goals.

In light of this latest decision, the Ukrainian Football Association has appealed to all UEFA member associations to join a boycott of any matches against Russian teams. Such a boycott has already been officially announced by football associations in England, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Norway, and Romania. Several other countries—Switzerland, Czech Republic, Netherlands, and Estonia—are publicly awaiting further explanations from UEFA. UEFA’s own argumentation anticipates that its statutory goals require the cancellation of this recent decision.

We are firmly convinced that football should always be on the side of peace, tolerance, and justice among countries in any competition.

We urge FIFA and UEFA to stand against violence and Russian Federation's unilateralism. We will resolutely adhere to this position until the end of the war in Ukraine and the restoration of peace on the European continent,"—the letter states, in particular.