Throughout history, Russia has repeatedly violated the Olympic truce, and the global impact of the war in Ukraine manifested itself in all areas of human activity, including sports. As a result of the war, people's quality of life and psychological health were damaged, and sports recreation can be used for the prevention of some mental disorders and rehabilitation of people with trauma. After the invasion in February 2022, sanctions in the framework of sports competitions were initiated for two main reasons: Russia violated the Olympic ceasefire and prevented Ukrainian Paralympians from participating in the Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing. Ukrainian athletes suffered great losses due to the war, and many were forced to leave their homeland and look for conditions to continue their sports career abroad, including in Croatia. The International Olympic Committee condemned the war from the very beginning and recommended that Russian athletes should be allowed to compete in international competitions exclusively under a neutral flag. Due to the connection between sport and international relations, a new term, sports diplomacy, appeared in the second half of the twentieth century. Various aspects that connect sport and diplomacy are related to the human community, and mainly concern branding and strengthening the country's image, connecting nations through sport, and sending messages using media attention at major sports competitions and meetings of state leaders on the sidelines. However, the core of sports events is precisely the sports competition itself, in which politics and international relations must not interfere.