A Ukrainian professional basketball player, Wladimir Konew, was not allowed to leave the country. Konew, a 35-year-old player for the Dnjepr team and the Ukrainian national team, was taken from a train on his way to Latvia and brought to a recruitment center in the city of Luzk. This was reported by the team’s leader, Valeri Kondratyev, on Facebook, stating that the best players of Dnjepr, including Konew and Daniil Sipalo, had received a deferral of military service from the Ukrainian Ministry of Youth and Sports and were on their way to Latvia for qualification games. However, Konew was unexpectedly taken from the train and brought to the recruitment center in Luzk to clarify the situation.
Kondratyev appealed to the Ukrainian Sports Minister, Matvey Bedny and the Chairman of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, Vadim Gutzeit, to resolve the situation in favor of the basketball player. Later, the Dnjepr leader announced that Konew would return to the team and would not play for the national team in the upcoming games.
The Ukrainian national team is scheduled to play against Slovenia in Riga on February 21 and against Portugal on February 24. After four games, the Ukrainian national team is in last place in the group table, having won no games.
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) suspended the national teams of Russia and Belarus from participating in FIBA-organized competitions in March 2022 due to the Ukraine conflict.