On Thursday, August 20, the first stage of the new season of the Junior Grand Prix in Figure Skating started in China, which ended in a scandal involving Russians.

The “neutral” dance duo of Maria Fefelova and Artem Valov performed a rhythm dance program to a mix of music by Antonio Vivaldi and the legendary Ukrainian “Shchedryk” Nikolai Leontovych.

nothing unimportant, just Russian juniors skating under the Ukrainian Shchedryk at the international stage of the Grand Prix of figure skating, but the dirt was only allowed to get dirty, and the stench has already shown all its essence? pic. twitter. com/Eis5MSkFyp.

— lis (@aimellisse) August 20, 2026.

Note that the famous French choreographer Benoit Richaud works with this Russian couple.

The tournament in China became the first full-fledged international start of the Russians after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Let us recall that this summer the International Skating Union (ISU) allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in international competitions under its auspices in a neutral status.

Also in the summer, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended no longer applying restrictions for Russians, as well as restoring the membership of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). In addition, the ban on holding competitions in Russia was lifted.

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Earlier, the Russian figure skater spoke about the confrontation with the Ukrainian at the 2026 Olympics.